MP Abdu Katuntu: Parliament Has Become a Job Centre, Not a Service Platform

Veteran legislator Abdu Katuntu has delivered a scathing assessment of Uganda’s current political climate, warning that Parliament has been reduced to a mere job placement centre rather than a platform for national service.

Speaking on Saturday during an interview on Capital FM, the Bugweri County MP criticised the motives of many politicians seeking elective office.

“Politics in Uganda today is less about service. People come to get nominations to go get jobs in Parliament but not serve,” Katuntu said.

He suggested that only a minority of MPs are committed to engaging with policy and public service.

“We are between 50 to 100 who address our minds. In Parliament, the others just arrived,” he remarked, implying that the majority are disengaged or uninterested in legislative work.

Katuntu called on the public to shift how they perceive political competition and electoral contests.

“Ugandans should understand that people are looking for jobs and should let them be,” he added, in what seemed like a call for voters to stop expecting public-spirited leadership from all politicians.

His comments are likely to stir debate in a country where concerns about political patronage, bloated public service, and misuse of state resources remain topical.

Katuntu’s remarks come amid rising frustrations over parliamentary inefficiency and an increasingly transactional political culture ahead of the 2026 general elections.

The legislator, known for his legal and legislative experience, did not mention specific names, but his broad indictment points to a systemic problem within Uganda’s political establishment