Like they say if you would build something solid, begin where people are gathered, Jinja Safari Hotel on Monday 2nd March, 2026 took on the feel of a campaign stage.
A self-styled group of NRM enthusiasts “Anita Among team”—elders, youth organizers and local traders—waved posters of the incumbent Speaker and President Museveni while telling reporters they have already persuaded 42 out of 44 MPs-elect to back Rt Hon Annette Among for a second term alongside her deputy, Rt Hon Thomas Tayebwa.
The roll call read like a local directory: veteran NRM leader and mobiliser Mzee Hajji Haruna Ntuyo (chairperson, elderly), veteran NRM honcho Hajji Badru Watongola, sports broadcaster Mayengo Geoffrey who subscribes to the Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba(CDF)-founded PLU), Byakika Sox, Edith Tukahirwa—“Mama Lumonde,” Busoga’s Irish-potato supplier—Allan Zabwe (NRM Youth), Ntalo Shaban, Namayo Bruno, Rakib Romanz, Arafat Sowedi, Kinene Fahad (“Mr. Cash”), Babirye Ruth and Kanyago Irene (“Small” despite her frame).
Edith Tukahirwa said Among’s dedication to the NRM is matched by her passion for women, pledging to expand their empowerment if returned Speaker.
Former Jinja district youth councilor Ntuyo Mohammed (Gen Sec NRM), made it clear that the Speakership position is a matter of national dimension and interest urging some disgruntled politicians to style up and ‘go with the sail or the sail will go with them’ meaning they should adjust to the popular forces they cannot control, rather than fight them and get dragged away.
In other words, Mohammed Ntuyo’s message is clear: work with the prevailing momentum, or else it will carry you where you did not plan to go.
Hajji Badru Watongola who has a bruising history with Kadaga said Among’s speakership brings hope to Busoga because she works to unite people rather than preside over a rag-tag Busoga.
When asked why they are not backing Hon Persis Namuganza the ‘daughter of the soil’ in Busoga, the group says the speakership should not be reduced to sectarian math: Busoga has held it for years with support from other regions, so now it is payback time.
They add that Among whom they kept on referring to as ‘Triple A’(AAA), personally reached out to local mobilisers to build support, while Namuganza has not.
They say that humility and ground-level approach has earned their loyalty.
They framed Among as the NRM party’s unifying beat, praising her mobilization muscle and national recognition, just as challenge drums grow louder.
As everyone is aware, Hon Norbert Mao, the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister and Pece–Laroo MP-elect, is pitching a reformist tempo; the MP Bukono State Minister Hon Princess Persis Namuganza offers an executive hook.
Hon Mao is seen by some as a cleaner alternative, a lawyer with long experience-Makerere University guild president, MP and Gulu District Chairman, hence (‘Chairman’).
People and supporters point to his scandal-free record, sober temperament and reluctance to personalize fights as qualities befitting Speaker.
But Among’s Jinja camp calls Mao an ‘outsider’ not NRM and says the western sanctions fallout stems from Among’s vocal opposition to foreign practices they view as incompatible with Ugandan values.
In their argument, Among is a clean-hearted, well-meaning leader caught by circumstance.
In Ugandan street proverb style, the Jinja camp warns: “Vibes do not lie; dancers do,” urging MPs to keep the speakership playlist steady.
Most notable was the mention of Hon Moses Muwanika Walyomu, the Kagoma County veteran long loyal to Rt Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, Among’s well-known rival.
“He has seen the light,” organizers said, presenting him as their latest catch, music is how a crowded room learns to breathe together,” a mobiliser Geoffrey Mayengo remarked.
As Florentine Renaissance diplomat, writer and political thinker Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) observed, “fortune favors the adaptable, but voters remember names”, Hon Walyomu stands accused of borrowing Kadaga’s name to win office, then pivoting to Among for favors in the 2026-31 term, a switch critics say shows how quickly Ugandan loyalty can reroute when the speakership changes address.
For Among’s choir, the gamble is that familiarity and fundraising reach will drown out new riffs. For rivals, the bet is that parliament’s dance floor is ready for a different rhythm when the House chooses its next speaker.
The group, who’s each of the members wanted to be heard on the reporters’ microphones or seen on cameras, poured all its vibe into the scrum with chants, laughter, placards thrust forward turning the press huddle into a stage and making sure Jinja’s energy level was unmissable.
Ugandans continue to watch the space with nervous curiosity, waiting to see how the race unfolds and who carries it over the line. The question humming beneath the chants is simple: does the winner take all, or does the winner win for all.
For now, Jinja’s and in deed Busoga’s microphone and placards have chosen their chorus-Annette Anita Among, Triple A, Museveni Oyee-but the ultimate test lies beyond the slogans. If the Speakership is to bind Busoga and the wider map, the victor’s job will be to turn rally vibe into a thread that holds, not a rope that splits.
Editorial- TEU.
As The Exposure Uganda (TEU)ends its notebook on Jinja, the facts sit plain: camps have chosen, chants have named their favorite, and Busoga’s ‘payback’ argument has squared off against Mao’s outsider resume and Namuganza’ quiet candidacy.
What is missing, still, is a speakership that feels less like a regional dividend and more like a house rule everyone’s trust.
We expose the slogans, the outreach, the grievances and the sanctions-bruised narrative. You decide whether winner-take-all politics serves parliament or whether, this time, winner wins for all.
