IT’S NOT YET OVER! Anita Among Party Plans Banned by Muhoozi

Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has issued a fresh warning over any attempt to organise a celebration for former Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among, adding a new twist to the dramatic political events that recently saw her lose the Speakership.

The warning comes after Muhoozi announced that President Yoweri Museveni had forgiven Among following a turbulent period in which her political fortunes appeared to collapse.

Among had been subjected to movement restrictions and searches of her homes before being forced to withdraw from the race for Speaker of the 12th Parliament in favour of Jacob Marksons Oboth Oboth.

Oboth Oboth subsequently secured the Speakership, marking a dramatic end to Among’s tenure at the helm of Parliament.

The developments surrounding Among were accompanied by a wider crackdown on several officials and political associates linked to her parliamentary establishment.

Among’s former allies, including former Parliament Director of Communications and Public Affairs Chris Obore, were arrested, charged and sent to prison as investigations into alleged wrongdoing intensified.

Yet the political trajectory of Among has been markedly different.

She remains the elected Bukedea District Woman Member of Parliament and, despite the upheaval that stripped her of the Speakership, she has not been publicly prosecuted in connection with the crackdown that ensnared some of her former associates.

That apparent political survival has fuelled questions about what Museveni’s reported forgiveness means and whether the former Speaker has finally emerged from the crisis that threatened her political career.

It was against this backdrop that speculation emerged about a possible celebration for Among.

But instead of allowing the speculation to gather momentum, Muhoozi moved to shut it down.

In a strongly worded message, the CDF warned that anyone attempting to organise such a gathering would face arrest, while making a distinction between presidential forgiveness and the resolution of possible outstanding matters.

“There will be ABSOLUTELY no party for AAA [Anita Annet Among]. We shall arrest anybody involved in that nonsense! Forgiving someone does not mean they do not have unresolved cases.”

The statement immediately placed a qualification on the reported reconciliation between Museveni and Among.

While the President may have forgiven the former Speaker politically, Muhoozi’s words suggest that forgiveness should not automatically be understood to mean that every matter surrounding Among has been conclusively settled.

Among responded directly, denying that she or people associated with her had any plans to organise a celebration.

“My brother Gen, there are no arrangements by myself or individuals associated with me to host any party. God bless!”

The brief response appears designed to distance Among from any suggestion that she was preparing to celebrate her political survival or the reported reconciliation with Museveni.

A POLITICAL REVERSAL

The exchange highlights the extraordinary reversal in Among’s political fortunes.

Only recently, she was Speaker of Parliament and among the country’s most powerful political figures. She then withdrew from the Speakership contest amid intense pressure, paving the way for Oboth Oboth.

Several people who had occupied influential positions around Parliament subsequently found themselves facing criminal charges or imprisonment.

Among, however, retained her parliamentary seat.

Her continued presence in Parliament means that although she has lost the Speakership, she remains an elected political figure with a constituency and a platform in national politics.

The latest exchange also underscores the delicate distinction between political forgiveness and legal accountability.

Muhoozi’s warning suggests that the reported reconciliation should not be interpreted as an announcement that every unresolved matter has disappeared.

For Among, meanwhile, the message is clear: there is no party being organised in her honour, at least according to her own account.

The unusual public exchange between the CDF and the former Speaker therefore leaves Uganda with a striking political question: has Anita Among survived the storm, or is her political reprieve still conditional?

It should be remembered that Muhoozi recently announced Museveni’s decision to forgive Anita Among, as reported Here and There.