Written By | Peter Luzinda
11th Parliament: The legislators have apologised to Ugandans
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PARLIAMENT
A section of Members of Parliament has publicly apologised to Ugandans over corruption and alleged financial mismanagement in the 11th Parliament, admitting that legislators failed to exercise effective oversight and allowed questionable expenditure practices within Parliament to go unchecked.
Leading the apology was Musa Noah (Koboko North) during an interview at Parliament, where he openly admitted that even as a member of the Budget Committee, he was unaware of the actual budget of the Parliamentary Commission because it was allegedly treated as classified information.
“I was sitting on the Budget Committee. I can tell you without any fear or contradiction that I personally did not know the budget of the Parliamentary Commission. They turned the budget of the Parliamentary Commission into a classified budget,” Noah said.
“So they would not even discuss it openly. The chairperson, maybe the deputy and a few members, would handle it. There was no scrutiny on the budget of the Parliamentary Commission, which was a very big mistake. Unfortunately, we allowed this to pass like that.”
Musa Noah (Koboko North MP)
His remarks come amid widening corruption investigations targeting senior parliamentary officials, including former Speaker Anita Annet Among and some officials attached to Parliament administration.
Noah further described the decision by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to reportedly front Jacob Oboth Oboth for the Speakership as a vote of no confidence in former parliamentary leaders Anita Among and Thomas Tayebwa.
Traditionally, Speakers of Parliament in Uganda have often served two terms.
“The management of Parliament had problems. Definitely, this chance for them to return a second time is not going to be there, and this is a vote of no confidence, which is unfortunate in my opinion,” Noah said.
“And unfortunately, these are very young people who were probably just starting their political careers. It is sad for it to end like that.”
Meanwhile, Fadil Twalla said the ongoing corruption probe involving former Speaker Among had vindicated Chief of Defence Forces Muhoozi Kainerugaba, whose public statements against corruption had often attracted criticism.
“People have been undermining General MK whenever he tweets. People say maybe he is drinking or joking, but you have now seen that he means what he tweets,” Twalla said.
“He said this is ‘Kisanja No Corruption,’ and you have seen it is truly a season against corruption. It is not easy for somebody to come out and say we are getting rid of what is killing our country.”
Fadil Twalla
Twalla added that many Ugandans appeared supportive of the anti-corruption campaign associated with the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU).
Noah also admitted shortcomings in parliamentary oversight work, revealing that the ICT Committee, on which he serves, had not conducted any oversight visits during the 2025/26 financial year.
He further disclosed that some foreign parliamentary trips appeared to lack substantive official purpose.
“My first trip in the 11th Parliament was to attend the Dubai Expo. On our way back, I kept asking about the reports and activities because I believed we had gone there for official work,” he said.
“But eventually, it turned out that people were simply going around to relax.”
The remarks have added to growing public debate over accountability, expenditure, and oversight failures within Uganda’s Parliament as anti-corruption investigations continue to intensify.
Torch Media Africa
