Rt. Hon. Kadaga, it is unfortunate that at your level, you equate leadership with the ability to travel to Washington or London.
Is your idea of statesmanship truly that shallow and externally dependent? You should be the first to understand that the strength of a leader is measured not by how many times they set foot in Western capitals, but by how courageously they defend their people, their constitution, and their moral fabric even when that comes at the cost of foreign approval.
Speaker Rt. Hon. Anita Among was not denied entry into the U.S. and U.K. because of corruption a lie that you and others have tried to push for political gain.
The real reason, which you very well know, is her role in defending Uganda’s values by presiding over the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which was democratically passed by an overwhelming majority in Parliament and widely supported by the Ugandan population.
That is what true leadership looks like: taking a stand for what your people believe in, not running to the West for validation.
Kadaga, when did defending Uganda’s values become a crime? When did passing laws in a sovereign parliament become grounds for slander from a former Speaker? Why didn’t you raise your voice against the bill then, if you were so morally superior? Or were you silent because the cameras weren’t rolling and the U.S. embassy wasn’t watching? Your populist antics now betray hypocrisy and a desperate attempt to remain relevant.
Let it be clear: President Museveni and Speaker Among do not need the U.S. or U.K. to govern Uganda.
They derive their mandate from the Ugandan people not foreign diplomats. Uganda’s sovereignty is not a donation from Western powers. We are not a puppet republic.
Sanctions or no sanctions, Uganda will march forward. We have our natural resources, our people, our institutions, and our history of resistance against imperial arrogance.
Africa must be led by Africans not by embassies or foreign missions.
You, Kadaga, served in the Pan-African Parliament. What did you learn? That leadership is about pleasing foreign interests while tearing down your own leaders back home? That is not Pan-Africanism.
That is betrayal, wrapped in borrowed phrases and hidden behind expired diplomatic credentials.
What Uganda needs now is unity, dignity, and fearless leadership. Rt. Hon. Anita Among has proven she has the spine and vision to stand in the storm.
The same cannot be said of those hiding behind foreign press briefings and Twitter diplomacy to undermine her.
In the face of foreign coercion and internal sabotage, we stand firm with Speaker Among. And we say to you, Rt. Hon. Kadaga: If you can not lead with truth and patriotism, at least have the grace to step aside and keep silent.
*By Dr. Kened Mutenyo.*
The writer is a senior economist and researcher at Makerere University
