The Sanctions recently imposed by the United Kingdom Government on the Speaker of Parliament of Uganda Rt. Hon Anita Among are an afterthought following the Parliament’s decision to pass the Anti Homosexuality Bill of 2023 which was assented to by the President of Uganda and subsequently upheld by the Constitutional Court.
When the UK threatened Visa, travel and trade sanctions on some of the Government officials shortly after Parliament Chaired by Among had passed the Anti Homosexuality Law, little did we know that she would shortly be the immediate target/victim.
But if UK is doing all this in Uganda simply because they have donated some funds to the Government, I ask myself, are they the only States donating to this country? Why are they the only ones behaving like this?
Why haven’t they threatened the Government or taken any other action if at all they see that Uganda and its officials are not taking the right path? I am not condoning Corruption but I am.saying that UK is just Petty and taking irrational, irrelevant and inconsequential decisions.
The Speaker of Parliament Rt.Hon Anita Among is not a corrupt woman, she has her own privileges entitled to her by the virtue that she is the Speaker of Parliament. She cannot in any way steal from the poor as the UK Claims without evidence.
The very person charged with the duty of Prosecution of all criminal cases in the country, the Director of Public Prosecutions Jane Frances Abodo in an interview that I watched on several local media houses which I know that other citizens watched too cleared the Speaker, Vice President, the Prime Minister and the Minister for East African Affairs saying she had found no incriminating evidence against the top four Ladies in government.
The Speaker used the iron sheets to roof the schools in her district. As a transparent leader, when investigations commenced, Rt Hon. Among quickly revealed that she had used the 500 iron sheets to roof some schools in her home area in Bukedea District for the benefit of the people who voted her to parliament. It should be noted that some of these politicians had requested from the office of the Prime Minister some relief items such as posho, beans, iron sheets and clothes by the time the iron sheets were mismanaged in the office of the Prime Minister.
As a result, when the iron sheets came in, the officials thought it was in response to their earlier made requests and quickly put them into the use for which they had been planned.
Nevertheless, as an obedient servant of the people, the Speaker couldn’t go back to the schools to remove the iron sheets from their respective roofs. Instead, she bought new iron sheets after deciding to buy new ones so as to protect the image of Parliament.
So where does the UK Government get the moral authority and the audacity to sanction the Speaker? Does the UK want to portray that the Speaker is the most corrupt person in Uganda? I think the UK is just raising its hands at the moment over other reasons which I believe could be related to the passing of the Homosexuality Act.
When you look at the available history, you look at UK supporting dictatorial governments like it was in 1953 when they helped in overthrowing Iran’s democratically elected leader Mohammed Mossadeq. I believe with that kind of image, UK doesn’t have the moral authority to interfere and inter-meddle in other country’s independence and by gagging the leaders like the Speaker.
We have seen the previous sanctions on other officials like Former Minister for Foreign Affairs Sam Kahamba Kutesa, Kale Kayihura and some Judicial Officers. But I ask myself, of what implications were those sanctions? A sanction shouldn’t be issued in vain especially when it’s not enforceable. Kayihura and Kutesa are here in their country eating, moving to other countries and doing their businesses back home. What have they lost because of the sanctions imposed on them previously? Nothing. It’s business as usual.
I again ask myself, if the UK wants to become the World Judge, why is selectively applying the sanctions? There were other people named in the Iron sheets scandal. This in my view defeats common sense! The Investigations in the iron sheets scandal took place a year ago, why are the sanctions coming now shortly after the upholding the Anti Homosexuality Act? Is it by coincidence? Uganda is an independent country running its Affairs in a manner that she is deeming fit in an independent Democratic free society, unless UK says it wants to colonize us again. UK ought to stop its unilateral coercive measures.
The Speaker will continue wearing a brave face amidst all these sanctions!
Anonymous!
