KAMPALA.The Minister for Justice and Constitution Affairs, Mr Norbert Mao, has petitioned the clerk to Parliament, seeking to hold the induction for the new members of the 12th Parliament after the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
In a letter dated April 27, 2026, Mr Mao who is among the aspiring Speakers of the 12th parliament, cites the programme released by Parliament indicating that the induction will happen soon after the swearing in of the members but before the election of the House leadership.
However, the Laroo-Pece Division (Gulu City) MP-elect who doubles as the Democratic Party (DP) President General argues that the inauguration should take place after the election of the House leadership so as not to compromise its objectives, adding that the 12th Parliament will only be considered fully constituted after the Speaker and Deputy Speaker have been elected.
“I note that close to two thirds of the members are new. This means that anything that will be a distraction from the objective of the induction should be discouraged,’’ he said.
He noted that while attending the National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders retreat in Kyankwanzi, the Speaker of the 12th Parliament, Ms Anita Among distracted members to the extent of almost overshadowing the important knowledge that was being shared by variety experts.
He cited an example of one of the aspirants who queried the internal party process being followed in the election of Speaker, where he said, the attention of members was taken away from the discussions at hand.
He further said the situation wasn’t helped by the unwarranted outburst from Ms Among when she allegedly attacked him for aspiring to lead the 12th parliament yet, he’s not a member of the ruling party.
“I have also seen the list of speakers during the orientation and I’m concerned that the outgoing Speaker Anita Among has deliberately lined up her loyalists, especially from the political class, to be the main presenters,” Mr Mao said.
Although the two-time presidential candidate appreciates the resourcefulness of the proposed speakers, he contends that given their alleged bias in favour of Ms Among, they’re likely to spend more time promoting her candidature rather than imparting useful knowledge to the new members.
He accused Ms Among of preventing any of her critics “including myself from making presentations” during the recently held NRM leaders retreat at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.