The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has asked President Yoweri Museveni to remove the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Betty Amongi, from the Lira City Woman Parliamentary race.
Among made the appeal on Thursday in Lira, where Mr Museveni was concluding his campaign rally in the Lango sub-region. President Museveni, the NRM presidential flag bearer, had launched his campaign trail in Amolatar in October last year before temporarily suspending rallies in Kole and Lira to campaign in other parts of the country. He returned to Lira to conclude the regional engagements yesterday.
Ms Amongi, who is contesting on the ticket of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) led by her husband Jimmy Akena, is facing off with the NRM candidate and Minister of Health, Jane Ruth Aceng, in the Lira City Woman MP race.
The Speaker urged the President to exercise his authority as the appointing authority to compel Amongi to step aside from the parliamentary contest.
“I am speaking as the second national vice chairperson. I know I am your vice but I must do wok for you to get a good party. We cannot continue hobnobbing with people who do not believe in us and I want to thank the UPC members who love us genuinely. And your excellency I want to thank you for believing in politics of ideology and not identity. Your excellency, that patience of yours, may be enough is enough. We cannot allow people to step on a plate that has fed you,” said Ms Among amid loud cheers and handclaps.
The Bukedea Woman MP argued that Ms Amongi was using government resources provided by an NRM-led administration to politically fight the same party.
“When we created Lira City, you wanted it to be under the leadership of NRM where you can have full control. In the interest of promoting NRM and in the interest of making sure that we are in charge of Lira City, we want to request you your excellency that you request your daughter, Amongi to leave Dr Aceng in Lira City because when you appointed her as a minister, the same facilities she gets as a minister under your government are the same facilities that she uses to fight your people,” Ms Among said.
She emphasised that the ruling party would not tolerate such conduct, noting that party loyalty must be upheld, especially by those entrusted with government responsibility. According to Among, accepting an appointment under NRM comes with an obligation not to undermine the party’s political interests.
While acknowledging that some opposition members genuinely support the NRM and its ideology, the Speaker cautioned the President against being overly accommodating, warning that excessive leniency could be politically costly.
She concluded by praising the President for his patience and inclusive leadership, but stressed that the election period was a defining moment for identifying true allies. She rallied the people of Lango to turn out in large numbers to vote for President Museveni as a gesture of appreciation for the fulfilment of his pledges to the region.
Despite the pointed request, the President did not directly respond to the Speaker’s appeal during his nearly one-hour address. Instead, he focused on highlighting the NRM’s historical role in restoring peace and stability to Uganda, noting that national unity had been undermined in the past by sectarian divisions.
‘Uganda had become unmanageable with political instability, cattle rustlers, but now Uganda is peaceful from one corner to another. This is because of our ideology. We believe in politics of interest rather than politics of identity,” said Mr Museveni who has been in power since 1986 and plans to extend his rule to 45 years in the January 15, 2026 General Election.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Sports, Peter Ogwang, called on voters in Lango to support Dr Jane Ruth Aceng. He praised her performance, saying she had delivered more tangible results for the region compared to other legislators.
Dr Aceng has been serving her first term in Parliament since her election in 2021 as the Woman Member of Parliament for Lira City.