The fate of Rt. Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga as Speaker in 11th Parliament

 Speaker to be or not to be of the incoming parliament has become a big point of contention in the country’s  politics once again as the swearing in of the next parliament due to take place in May draws near.

The ruling National Resistance Movement Party holds a very strong majority in the incoming parliament already. Hon. Nganda, an FDC member of a party known to have genuine bad blood with NRM hardly stands a chance of getting their support and therefore will not be Speaker of the 11th Parliament unless the Heavens personally intervene! said head media for Rt. Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga western Uganda when he reached out at our offices in fort portal .

Between 1984 and 1988, she was in private law practice. From 1989 to 1996, she served as the member of parliament for Kamuli District in the District Woman’s Constituency. She served as the Chairperson of the University Council for Mbarara University, between 1993 and 1996. During 1996, she served as Secretary General of the East African Women Parliamentarians Association.

From 1996 to 1998, Rebecca Kadaga was the Ugandan Minister of State for Regional Cooperation (Africa and the Middle East). She then served as Minister of State for Communication and Aviation from 1998 to 1999 and as Minister for Parliamentary Affairs from 1999 to 2000. She was elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament in 2001, a position that she held until 19 May 2011, when she was elected Speaker of Parliament.

Following the February 2016 general election, Kadaga was unanimously re-elected as Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2016.

Besides her duties as speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, she sits on the following parliamentary committees:

• Appointments Committee – The Committee reviews all Cabinet appointments by the President, and may approve or reject an appointment: The Speaker chairs the committee
• The Parliamentary Commission – The Speaker chairs the Commission
• The Business Committee – The Speaker chairs the committee

Kadaga vowed to pass the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill through parliament by December 2012. The bill – sometimes referred to as the “Kill the Gays bill” – at one time sought to make acts of homosexuality punishable by death or life imprisonment but later removed the death penalty option from the bill. She says it will become law since most Ugandans “are demanding it”.

In December 2012, Kadaga was in Rome to give a speech at the Seventh Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the International Criminal Court and the Rule of Law.

Reports circulated that Kadaga received a blessing from Pope Benedict XVI at a Vatican mass. Soon after the news broke, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi issued a statement that said: “relations with the delegation were not out of the ordinary and no blessing was given.” The group of Ugandan MPs greeted the Pope “just like any other individuals attending an audience with the Pope would” and this was “by no means a specific sign of approval of Kadaga’s actions or proposals.” 

Uganda’s choice to host the 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference is a milestone achievement for the country but also for the leadership of 10th Parliament under the stewardship of Rt. Hon. Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga.

Until her election as the President Designate of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Rt. Hon. Kadaga has been a vocal person and a rallying point not only in the CPA but also in other global fora such as the Inter-Parliaentary Union (IPU) where she has championed a number of causes ranging from Women’s rights, good governance and democracy, the environment and the need for inclusive policies that particularly aim at addressing the marginalisation of women and youth.

Robert  Tumwesigye ; The head media for Rt. Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga says ‘ Pushing Kadaga aside is also an unwise decision for the post President Museveni NRM era that draws closer by the day given there is hardly a leader with the kind of appeal the Speaker holds across board within NRM besides the President.

She is also credited for working tirelessly in promoting inter-regional cooperation among members of the CWP and for introducing a number of innovations including the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians strategy that has proven key in guiding parliamentarians to discuss ‘Political Violence against Women.’

Early last year (March), Speaker Kadaga, acting as Vice President of the CPA, then actively participated in framing the revised and updated CPA Recommended Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures. The Benchmarks are a tool to provide Parliaments across the Commonwealth with assistance to strengthen their capacity to adhere to good governance principles.

Originally published in 2006 but revised and updated in 2018 to bring them in line with the Commonwealth Charter and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, the purpose of the CPA Benchmarks is to encourage Parliaments and Legislatures to undertake their own self-assessments based on a Commonwealth standard which is specifically designed to help Parliaments identify possible new ways to function more effectively.

In an interview with our reporter ,Robert  Tumwesigye  said although it might be narrow, nonetheless, there is a path for her to become the next speaker of parliament.

The Author is an  Analyst

Name : Musobozi Robert Achaali

Twitter: @musobozirobert

Email: roveez@gmail.com

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