‘My role was to get rid of Anita Among and I have won’ — Norbert Mao declares in stunning victory speech

KAMPALA — Democratic Party (DP) president Norbert Mao has made a dramatic and unprecedented declaration, stating openly that his singular mission was to remove Speaker Anita Among from office — and that he has achieved total victory.

“My role was to get rid of Anita Among and I have won,” Mao told journalists in Kampala earlier today.

The statement marks the first time Mao has so directly and unapologetically framed his recent political campaign as a targeted operation to unseat the powerful Bukedea Woman MP. It represents a stunning capstone to weeks of bitter political warfare that has gripped Uganda’s Parliament and captivated the nation.

Speaking with the confidence of a man who has watched his political gamble pay off spectacularly, Mao did not hide his satisfaction.

“Civil society was raising alarms. MPs were raising alarms. The opposition leaders in Parliament were raising alarms,” Mao said. “But the problem was the position of Speaker because that office was being abused. Someone needed to shake that chair.”

‘I have been like the liberator’

The DP president went further, casting himself in transformative terms that will likely provoke both celebration and controversy.

“I have been like the liberator,” Mao declared. “Removing what is bad is just a first step. Doing what is good is the next step.”

That next step, according to Mao, will be far-reaching and potentially devastating for those who served under Among’s leadership. He has called for a forensic audit into the entire administration of Parliament — a move that threatens to expose financial irregularities, procurement abuses, and systemic corruption.

“You cannot say you are fighting malaria and then you are a friend to mosquitoes,” Mao had said earlier during his campaign, encapsulating his argument that Among represented the very rot he was sent to clean.

How Among fell

Speaker Anita Among’s downfall represents one of the most rapid and dramatic political collapses in recent Ugandan history. Once considered virtually unbeatable for a second term, she saw critical support evaporate within weeks.

Key factors in her demise include:

• The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) , a political pressure group closely associated with General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, initially endorsed Among but dramatically reversed its position, directing members to follow guidance from President Yoweri Museveni and the NRM Central Executive Committee.

• General Muhoozi’s cryptic social media posts questioning how Ugandan politicians afford luxury vehicles — widely interpreted as indirect criticism of Among’s lavish lifestyle.

• President Museveni’s decisive intervention, throwing the race open by stating that the NRM’s Central Executive Committee would reconsider its earlier endorsement, noting it had “become a tradition” rather than a binding decision.

The bitter war of words

The personal animosity between Mao and Among has been on public display for weeks, culminating in remarkably undignified exchanges.

At an NRM retreat in Kyankwanzi, Among delivered what many saw as a pointed rebuke to Mao’s political ambitions.

“We do cooperate with other political parties, but the cooperation doesn’t mean that you come up to my bedroom; you remain in the compound,” Among said.

Mao’s response was immediate and blistering.

“This is not just bad politics. It is bad manners!” Mao wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Only the head of the family has the final word on who can access which room in the home. He doesn’t need lectures from a recently adopted child!”

He later described Among’s comments as “gutter politics” and labeled her a political “refugee” within the NRM, contrasting her status with his own position as an invited guest of the party chairman.

Defying Muhoozi — and winning

Remarkably, Mao’s victory came despite a direct public appeal from General Muhoozi Kainerugaba asking him to step aside.

“I respectfully request my big brother Ladit Norbert Mao not to run for Speaker of Parliament. Please listen to your younger brother. We can get better positions,” Muhoozi posted on social media.

Mao ignored the request — a decision that has now been spectacularly vindicated.

What the forensic audit means

Mao’s promised forensic audit of Parliament could be the most consequential move of his political career. If carried out thoroughly, it threatens to:

• Expose financial mismanagement under Among’s Speakership

• Implicate senior parliamentary officials and MPs across party lines

• Open procurement processes to unprecedented public scrutiny

• Potentially lead to criminal investigations and prosecutions

For Anita Among, whose political future is now deeply uncertain, the audit represents an existential threat. For Mao, it is the logical next step in his self-described role as “liberator.”

Political earthquake

Mao’s declaration marks a major realignment in Ugandan politics. An opposition party leader serving in a ruling government has successfully engineered the downfall of a Speaker backed by significant establishment support — and is now openly celebrating.

For years, Mao was dismissed by critics as a political opportunist who had sold out by accepting a ministerial position in Museveni’s government. Today, he stands as the man who took down one of the most powerful women in Ugandan politics.

“Removing what is bad is just a first step,” Mao said again, as if to remind everyone listening that his work is far from finished.

The message is clear: Norbert Mao has won. But for Anita Among, and for many others who served under her leadership, the reckoning is only just beginning.

LCC TV NEWS