Editorial Team/Staff Writers

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The government started spying on embattled former Speaker of Parliament Anita Among in 2021 when she was Jacob Oulanyah’s deputy, the Weekend Monitor reported, citing a detailed dossier that puts Parliament’s financial mismanagement under the spotlight.

The paper said the alleged mismanagement involved major projects, including the parliamentary chamber whose construction started under the speakership of Rebecca Kadaga. 

The dossier reportedly points to sharp cost escalations that intelligence operatives believed were inflated by Parliament’s leadership.

Ms Among, who was sanctioned by the UK and US in 2024, defended some of the increases, saying design changes after the 2021 Kampala bomb attacks required blast-resistant glass and altered payment arrangements with suppliers. 

But the Weekend Monitor reported that investigators documented several cases where costs appeared exaggerated.

By late 2022, months after Ms Among succeeded Mr Oulanyah, investigators allegedly traced huge sums of money moving through accounts linked to parliamentary staff. 

According to the paper, President Yoweri Museveni was briefed on 14 suspicious accounts and subsequently involved the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and the Financial Intelligence Authority. Ms Among has previously denied wrongdoing.

Suspicious travel claims

The dossier alleges that between September 2023 and January 2024, a Parliament leader received more than shs2.6bn for foreign travel that allegedly never happened. The questioned trips included visits to Dubai, Nairobi, Johannesburg and Kigali.

Procurement under scrutiny

Investigators also reportedly focused on procurement deals. One example cited was a two-year radio advertising contract worth more than shs3.1bn, which the dossier contrasted with significantly smaller advertising budgets given to larger national broadcasters.

The report further alleged that a Parliament official received commissions on air tickets issued by a company said to have secured the contract without competitive bidding.

Recruitment and patronage

The dossier accuses senior Parliament figures of bypassing public service recruitment procedures by placing relatives and associates on the parliamentary payroll. Some staff, it alleges, were hidden under allowances and emoluments to avoid detection of a bloated workforce.

It also claims jobs were allegedly used to build influence across state institutions, including through appointments linked to families of senior Judiciary figures.

Lavish lifestyle concerns

The intelligence report argues that the visible wealth of senior Parliament leaders — including schools, hospitals, luxury homes and expensive vehicles—risked undermining public trust and taxpayer morale.

It further claims anti-corruption agencies feared aggressively pursuing Parliament leadership because of concerns over possible budget retaliation during appropriations.

Raids and political fallout

The dossier now appears central to the investigations behind the recent searches of Ms Among’s properties, including her Bukedea residence. Luxury vehicles seized include a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

The report also revisits questions surrounding the 2022 procurement of two Mercedes-Benz S550 vehicles worth shs2.8bn shortly after Ms Among became Speaker.

On Monday, Parliament elected Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth, the West Budama Central County MP, as the new Speaker and Thomas Tayebwa as his deputy. 

Mr Oboth-Oboth, who has been Defence Minister, polled 441 votes, beating Paul Mwiru, the opposition candidate who got 60 votes and Norbert Mao, the Minister of Justice, who finished a distant third with 15 votes.

Ms Among did not attend the 12th Parliament’s first sitting.

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