So many ‘bad’ things have been said about the Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, in respect of her decision to suspend Members of Parliament after the fracas in the August House two weeks ago, during which some opposition members were injured.
However, what most of her critics have missed is the clear demonstration of statesmanship and patriotic endeavor Kadaga exhibited when she visited the hospitalized MPs, and promised them better security.
It is no secret that Kadaga subscribes to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), and that those injured are from the opposition. But Kadaga’s gesture is that of a mature politician, who looks at Uganda beyond the present and photographs of the Speaker in a deep hug with Betty Nambooze at Bugolobi Medical Centre are tear-rending, to say the least.
Without doubt, Ms. Kadaga, a seasoned legislator, is an inspiration to most MPs, both NRM and opposition, and this was captured in the words of another injured MP, Francis Zaake Butebi, who said of the Speaker thus: “Kadaga has been a source of inspiration to most of us from across the political divide.”
It is such confidence in the person of the Speaker that she has managed to rise to the highest legislative post in the country, in the process stamping her name on Uganda’s posterity.
That said, the current political trends in the country do not put many Ugandans at ease, a regrettable development at this time when all people should be engaged in debate aimed at ensuring that the country is stable.
Indeed, the circumstances dictate that Ugandans must endeavor to tolerate even those with whom we disagree, as symptomized by Kadaga’s multiple visits to the injured MPs.
In Busoga where she hails from, Kadaga has exhibited political maturity, one of the reasons she has always been returned to Parliament over the last 20 years.
In her role as a leader from the area, Kadaga’s wise counsel in regard to the Kingdom and Kyabazingaship on diversity and inclusion has been invaluable, leading to stability across Busoga.
So, as the country grapples with the debate on the age limit, Ugandans can only pray that the Speaker is exposed to conditions that are conducive for her to carry out her constitutional mandate of steering the legislature for the betterment of all Ugandans.
