Kadaga Returns to Parliament After Years Away From Among-Led House

KAMPALA — Former Speaker and First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga made a notable return to Parliament on Thursday, ending a prolonged absence from sittings of the 11th Parliament that was presided over by her longtime political rival, Anita Annet Among.

Kadaga took her seat on the government front bench alongside Vice President Jessica Alupo, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and Third Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Nakadama during proceedings of the 12th Parliament.

Her appearance attracted attention from MPs and parliamentary observers, given that she had largely stayed away from House sittings during Among’s tenure as Speaker.

The relationship between the two leaders has long been viewed as strained following Kadaga’s loss of the Speakership in 2021 to the late Jacob Oulanyah.

After Oulanyah’s death in 2022, Among assumed the Speakership and emerged as one of the most powerful figures in Parliament.

Kadaga’s return comes at a time of significant transition within Parliament following Among’s exit from the Speaker’s race and the election of new parliamentary leadership.

A veteran legislator and one of Uganda’s longest-serving parliamentary leaders, Kadaga served as Speaker from 2011 to 2021 and remains one of the most influential figures in the ruling National Resistance Movement.

For many MPs, her reappearance on the front bench symbolised both the beginning of a new parliamentary chapter and the return of a political heavyweight to the House she once led for a decade.

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