TAKEAWAYS

• Anita Among says claims of her presidential ambitions are “rubbish” and “total nonsense.”
• She plans to retire from active politics in 2031.
• She will support President Museveni’s preferred successor instead of running herself.

The Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Anita Among, has come out to address her alleged presidential ambitions which have been circulating for some time.

During her appearance at the PLU headquarters, the Bukedea Woman MP said that talk of her eyeing the presidency is baseless and should be ignored.

“I have heard a section of people out there speaking. I don’t want to call it rubbish, but it is rubbish,” Among said.

She stressed that she has no intention of running for president, adding that she has already achieved more than she expected in her political career.

“Even where I am now, I have overachieved. I did not expect to be there,” she said.

Among revealed that she plans to retire from active politics in 2031 and will instead support whoever President Yoweri Museveni backs.

“I am saying, 2031, I am retiring from active politics. If my brother is standing or anybody that the president shows me support, that is the person I will support,” she noted.

She further dismissed the idea of her taking on the country’s top job, saying she does not have the desire or capacity for it.

“This nonsense of saying Anita wants to be a president is total nonsense. I am not for that. I don’t go for what I cannot handle,” she said.

Among added that even her current role comes with heavy responsibility, questioning how she would manage the presidency.

“Even being a Member of Parliament is too much. How will you run this country? I don’t even know how to cock a gun,” she said.

She also pointed out that she lacks the patience and ambition required for the presidency.

“I don’t even have that patience to be a president. I don’t even have the urge. I don’t even have the wish,” she added.

The Speaker, however, expressed gratitude for her current position, saying it is by God’s grace that she serves as Speaker of Parliament.

“But I am happy that in one way or the other, God gave me to be a Speaker,” she said.

It should be noted that rumors have for some time been circulating suggesting that Among could be positioning herself for the presidency, especially in the event that President Museveni vacates the seat.

Many political observers have pointed to the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as a potential successor to his father. However, Among’s name has also repeatedly surfaced in the conversation, prompting her latest remarks.