{"id":120719,"date":"2026-02-25T16:16:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mao-attacks-anita-among-as-accidental-speaker"},"modified":"2026-02-25T17:09:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T17:09:35","slug":"mao-attacks-anita-among-as-accidental-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mao-attacks-anita-among-as-accidental-speaker","title":{"rendered":"Mao Attacks Anita Among as &#8216;Accidental Speaker&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Uganda. <\/strong> <\/span><b>The President General of the Democratic Party, Norbert Mao, has described Uganda as having ended up with what he termed an \u201caccidental Speaker\u201d following the death of former Speaker Jacob Oulanyah.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Mao said the current Speaker, Anita Among, assumed office due to unforeseen circumstances rather than as part of a long-term leadership plan for Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOulanyah passed away while still serving as Speaker, creating a vacancy that had to be filled,\u201d Mao said, arguing that the transition altered the intended course of Parliament\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<p>Oulanyah died in 2022 while in office, prompting Parliament to elect a new Speaker in accordance with constitutional procedures. Among, who had been serving as Deputy Speaker, was subsequently elected to the top position.<\/p>\n<p>However, Mao contends that the country now needs what he called a deliberate and well-thought-out choice in the next Speakership race rather than one shaped by circumstance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to make a conscious decision about the kind of leadership Parliament requires,\u201d he said, adding that strong institutions depend on intentional leadership choices.<\/p>\n<p>Mao, who has expressed interest in the Speakership, said his bid is aimed at restoring what he described as institutional strength, independence and accountability within Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>He argued that Parliament must assert its oversight role more robustly and operate independently while maintaining constructive engagement with the Executive.<\/p>\n<p>Political analysts say Mao\u2019s remarks signal early positioning ahead of future parliamentary leadership contests, while also reflecting broader debates about the balance of power and institutional autonomy within Uganda\u2019s governance framework.<\/p>\n<p>The Speaker of Parliament plays a central role in presiding over House proceedings, maintaining order and guiding legislative business, making the office one of the most influential positions in the country\u2019s political system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Uganda<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Uganda. The President General of the Democratic Party, Norbert Mao, has described Uganda as having ended up with what he termed an \u201caccidental Speaker\u201d following the death of former Speaker Jacob Oulanyah. Mao said the current Speaker, Anita Among, assumed office due to unforeseen circumstances rather than as part of a long-term leadership [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":120718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-120719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mao Attacks Anita Among as &#039;Accidental Speaker&#039; - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Uganda. The President General of the ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mao-attacks-anita-among-as-accidental-speaker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mao Attacks Anita Among as &#039;Accidental Speaker&#039;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Uganda. 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