Anita Among and the convenient God of political success

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Musaazi NAMITI | SUNDAY THOUGHT


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Just weeks ahead of the Speakership election, former Speaker Anita Among, whose re-election bid was scuppered by corruption allegations, was telling Ugandans that her job came from God and that he wanted her to serve 10 years. 

She was about to complete the first five years when hell broke loose. Security operatives raided and searched her homes in Nakasero, Kigo and Bukedea looking for evidence of corruption. 

The move followed a Weekend Monitor front-page story about a Rolls-Royce worth shs2.3bn that she said had been given to her as a gift by a friend. Ms Among was already facing corruption allegations and had been sanctioned by the British and US governments.

Since the security operation, she has not made any public appearance and has been lying low like an empty envelope, as Ugandans with a moving sense of humour love to say. 

When individuals like Ms Among say God made a decision about something, they create the impression that they communicate directly with him. But Ms Among has not yet told Ugandans—and fellow MPs—why God did not warn her that her re-election bid would be complicated by the corruption allegations. 

Given the seriousness of the allegations, and if the government was serious about fighting corruption, she could, if found guilty, spend decades in prison. And that raises an uncomfortable question: Was God involved at all in her election in the first place?

Her woes appear to be multiplying. Last week, former Kampala Central MP Mohammed Nsereko said he had visited her and found she was seriously ill. The MP said Ms Among was suffering from a blood clot—a claim OJ-UGANDA could not independently verify. 

Mr Nsereko’s account provides a good example of how people cherry pick experiences of their lives they want God to be involved with. If something is positive, God is given all the credit. If it is negative, no one mentions God. 

Ms Among, for example, has not said anything about how God is managing her health issues. In fact, if it was not for the restrictions on her movement, she would be out of Uganda receiving treatment at first-class healthcare facilities.

And so, people who look at issues of faith objectively may ask: If a politician uses God to explain the hits, but when there are misses God is not invoked, are we not looking at wishful thinking?


🔴 Sunday Thought cuts through the noise of prayer, piety and superstition to ask the questions most people avoid. It discusses God, faith and religion—not to preach, but to probe, challenge and sometimes unsettle. Whether you believe, doubt or have stopped looking altogether, Sunday Thought will make you think, question and maybe even rethink everything you thought you knew about the divine—and about life itself.

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