To Support or Challenge Jacob Oboth Oboth? Norbert Mao’s Big Announcement after Anita Among Exited Speaker Race

Norbert Mao has set a date on which he will make his big announcement after Anita Among exited the speaker race for the 12^th parliament. The key question that Mao will have to address is if he will back or stand against Jacob Oboth Oboth.

The exit of Anita Among from the speaker race is a game changer.

Norbert Mao’s entry into the race for Speaker of Uganda’s 12th Parliament had injected rare volatility into what had initially appeared to be a largely settled contest dominated by incumbent Anita Among.

Backed by his stature as leader of the Democratic Party and serving Justice minister, Norbert Mao positioned himself as a reform candidate, arguing that the choice before MPs was whether Parliament “needs fixing” and whether new leadership could deliver that change.

From the outset, Mao’s candidacy disrupted internal expectations within the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), which had leaned toward endorsing Among for another term.

And when President Yoweri Museveni suggested that the endorsement could still be debated opened the field, he seemed to embolden Mao and other aspirants to mount serious campaigns, effectively transforming Mao from an outsider into a central challenger in a race that suddenly became competitive.

The contest quickly degenerated into a sharp war of words, particularly during the NRM caucus retreat in Kyankwanzi. Among lashed out at Mao, accusing him of overstepping political boundaries despite cooperation agreements between their parties. In a widely circulated remark, she likened the Speakership to her “bedroom,” insisting that political cooperation did not grant Mao access to contest for the position.

Mao responded with equal force, escalating the rhetoric into personal territory. He dismissed Among’s comments as “bad manners,” arguing that she was undermining political decorum and misinterpreting the nature of political cooperation. (See Details Here and There).

But things have since changed. Anita Among is out of the speaker race, and Jacob Oboth Oboth – the minister of defence and veteran affairs and West Budama Central MP – has been endorsed by President Yoweri Museveni, the ruling NRM national chairman, and Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) chairman, and senior presidential advisor on special operations.

Norbert Mao is expected to make his decision on the speaker race in light of recent developments, and whether he would want to challenge his friend Jacob Oboth Oboth, and go against the choice preferred by Museveni and Muhoozi, the most powerful men in Uganda.

At his press conference at the Democratic Party (DP) Balintuma headquarters on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, Norbert Mao will make his decision known.

Norbert Mao has given a hint on what to expect.

“It’s gonna to be a very long week!” he wrote. “Finally the tables are starting to turn…”

It should be remembered that Museveni has previously asked Norbert Mao to withdraw out of the speaker race and get a big government job. (See Details Here and There).

Already, Anita Among was promised a ‘big job’ before she withdrew from the speaker race, as reported Here.