KYANKWANZI.
The race for Speake of the 12th Parliament has become more tense with a verbal exchange coming to the fore between Justice Minister Norbert Mao and Speaker Anita Annet Among .
The clash follows Among’s pointed comments on Wednesday, where she drew a hard line on cooperation between the ruling NRM and other parties like DP , warning outsiders against contesting the Speakership.
“We do cooperate with different political parties, but the cooperation does not mean that if we are cooperating, you come up to my bedroom… The bedroom this time around is the speakership,” Among said.
Her metaphor, widely interpreted as targeting Mao, triggered an equally blunt response from the Democratic Party president, who accused the Speaker of breaching political decorum. “This is not just bad politics. It is bad manners,” Mao said.
In a stinging rejoinder laden with symbolism, Mao invoked President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as the ultimate authority within the ruling establishment.
“Only the head of the family (Museveni) has the final word on who can access which room in the home,” Mao said.
He went further, questioning Among’s political standing within the broader NRM alliance framework.
“Museveni doesn’t need lectures from a recently adopted child,” he added, before escalating the analogy: “Above all, when you insult your father’s visitors you’ve insulted your father.”
The exchange has injected a personal and ideological edge into what had already become a high-stakes contest within the NRM parliamentary retreat, where more than 400 MPs are gathering ahead of the 12th Parliament.
Mao’s candidacy has unsettled the status quo, leveraging his reputation as a seasoned debater and his growing proximity to influential figures within the ruling establishment.
His participation at Kyankwanzi has allowed him to directly lobby NRM legislators, despite leading a party formally outside the ruling structure.
Among, however, retains strong backing from sections of the NRM Central Executive Committee, which had earlier endorsed her alongside Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, framing continuity as key to parliamentary stability.
The standoff comes as President Museveni signaled that the party could reopen discussions on the Speakership, potentially widening the field beyond the initial CEC position and giving Mao’s bid renewed momentum.
With the retreat entering its decisive phase, the Speakership contest is fast evolving from a procedural party matter into a broader test of political alliances, hierarchy and influence within Uganda’s ruling ecosystem.