Uganda’s newly sworn Parliament Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth on Monday promised a more accountable, transparent and people-centred House, declaring in his maiden speech that ‘the Speaker’s chair is not a throne’ in remarks widely seen as a sharp departure from the scandal-hit tenure of his predecessor Anita Among.
Moments after taking oath at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds following a landslide 441-vote victory, Oboth-Oboth used his first address to lawmakers to promise restraint in power, tougher oversight of government spending and a reopening of Parliament to media scrutiny.
‘The Speaker’s chair is not a throne. It is a servant’s post,’ Oboth-Oboth told the newly inaugurated 12th Parliament after defeating National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Paul Mwiru, who secured 60 votes, and Democratic Party president general Norbert Mao, who garnered 15.
‘My role now is to come before you to ensure that the voices of over 48 million Ugandans who sent us here are heard, respected and protected,’ he said.
The remarks came at a politically sensitive moment for Parliament, whose public image has been badly bruised by corruption allegations, lavish spending claims and accusations of intolerance toward scrutiny during under probe Among’s tenure.
Among, who was absent from Monday’s sitting despite being eligible to vote as a legislator, has in recent weeks faced mounting public pressure following investigations into her wealth and lifestyle.
Detectives searched several of her upscale properties in Kigo, Nakasero, Ntinda, and Bukedea, while bags of Ugandan and foreign currency, along with a Rolls-Royce linked to the probe, were seized last week.
Critics had also increasingly accused Among of using her dominance over the House to swiftly pass controversial government-backed motions and bills favoured by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), often amid fierce opposition protests.
Against that backdrop, Oboth-Oboth repeatedly stressed accountability and institutional reform in his speech.
‘Accountability begins with us,’ he said, adding: ‘In the next five years, we will hold the Executive and other government bodies accountable. We cannot hide from accountability of government resources yet we expect it from other agencies and departments. That will not work.’
The ex-minister “promised to treat each one of us with fairness as we embark on working hard to harness the public trust but know that we will require some rapid, highly visible and structural changes to be made.”
He further warned against turning Parliament into what he described as ‘a theatre for hearsay or grandstanding,’ promising debates grounded in ‘hard facts, data and sound research.’
In another notable shift, the new Speaker directly addressed Parliament’s strained relationship with the media, pledging openness and transparency after months of tensions between the legislature and Nation Media Group [NMG-Uganda] journalists.
‘An objective and ethical media are not our enemies but the public’s eye and ear,’ he said, noting that: ‘When we close our doors to the media, a negative perception is generated. If we are clean and doing a good job, why hide?’
The comments are likely to resonate strongly within Uganda’s media industry after NMG, which owns NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor newspaper, was barred from covering parliamentary activities from late 2025 during Among’s leadership.
NMG outlets only regained access to Parliament last week as public attention intensified around the unfolding investigations into Among’s lifestyle and alleged illicit enrichment.
On Monday, Oboth-Oboth -more than twice- promised a Parliament more focused on ordinary citizens rather than elite political battles.
‘Every bill… motion and every decision must directly answer to the needs of the ordinary citizens,’ he remarked.
He added: ‘Budgeting will no longer be an exercise in financial engineering and distortion. It will be a service-oriented, results-driven endeavour to deliver services to our people.’
‘Village boy cum speaker’
In a moment of personal reflection, the West Budama Central MP traced his rise from rural Tororo District to the country’s third highest office telling the gathering at Kololo that: ‘For a boy who grew up in a rural village called Muwafu in Tororo District, who hustled to attain better education and today stands before you as 12th Parliament Speaker, it could only be by divine grace and to God be the glory.’
‘My final promise to all Ugandans is that I will remain the same Oboth, not changed by the grandeur or majesty of the powerful office of the Speaker,” he remarked.
Chief Justice Flavian Zeija officially declared Oboth-Oboth Speaker after the secret ballot conducted under the watch of President Museveni.
Following the ceremony, Museveni handed him the instruments of power associated with the office, including the mace, the Ugandan flag, the Constitution, House Rules of Procedure and the Speaker’s robes, formally placing him at the helm of Uganda’s 12th Parliament.
‘I greet you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
‘It is one of those great moments in our nation’s history… only made possible by God,’ he said, citing Isaiah 60:22 and Habakkuk 2:3.’
‘I can testify before you all gathered here today that faithful and strategic patience has brought us this far and we cannot thank God enough. I’m therefore not standing before you today in the official Speaker’s regalia accidentally but because God has made it possible.’
‘For a boy who grew up in a rural village called Muwafu in Tororo District, who hustled to attain better education and today stands before you as 12th Parliament Speaker, it could only be by divine grace and to God be the glory.’
‘I wish to thank my NRM party chairman H.E. Yoweri Museveni for the confidence and trust he showed in my abilities since 2011. Honourable members, I thank you most sincerely for entrusting me today with the highest office of being your Speaker; which responsibility I receive with utmost humility and modesty.’
‘God has spoken to Uganda through you all; the National NRM Chairperson, NRM CEC, NRM Caucus and this Parliament.’
‘To those who may not have voted for me, I will be your Speaker too.’
‘I thank my voters of West Budama for sending me to the nation.’
‘I also want to thank the leadership of the PLU, a pressure group aligned to the NRM, for their support through this journey.’
‘The Speaker’s chair is not a throne. It is a servant’s post. My role now is to come before you to ensure that the voices of over 48 million Ugandans who sent us here are heard, respected and protected.’
‘We are aware of what we’ve been going through. I pledge a corruption-free Parliament. Under my leadership, we shall cultivate a culture of absolute integrity and zero tolerance to corruption anchored in Museveni’s clarion call for a corruption-free Parliament in the next five years.’
‘Accountability begins with us. In the next five years, we will hold the Executive and other government bodies accountable. We cannot hide from accountability of government resources yet we expect it from other agencies and departments. That will not work.’
‘Under my leadership, the floor of Parliament will not be a theatre for hearsay or grandstanding. Our debates must be grounded in hard facts, data and sound research. We must be fair and objective to others as we play our oversight function.’
‘A people-centred Parliament… Every bill, every motion and every decision must directly answer to the needs of the ordinary citizens.’
‘Budgeting will no longer be an exercise in financial engineering and distortion. It will be a service-oriented, results-driven endeavour to deliver services to our people.’
‘An open Parliament… During this term, let’s appreciate that an objective and ethical media are not our enemies but the public’s eye and ear. We must maintain a transparent, decent and open Parliament. When we close our doors to the media, a negative perception is generated. If we are clean and doing a good job, why hide? I will encourage a professional and robust association with the press at all times in order to bridge the gap between the House and its people.’
‘The oversight function shouldn’t be postmortem. We need not wait for public funds to be lost. Mr President, our committees must be facilitated to work, monitor and protect resources in real time in order to propel every effort geared towards the 10-fold growth.’
‘I promise to treat each one of us with fairness as we embark on working hard to harness the public trust but know that we will require some rapid, highly visible and structural changes to be made.’
‘My final promise to all Ugandans is that I will remain the same Oboth, not changed by the grandeur or majesty of the powerful office of the Speaker.
‘Let’s serve Ugandans with honour, dignity and respect.’