Former Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among is set to be freed from months of house arrest after President Yoweri Museveni instructed his son, Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to lift the restrictions confining her to her homes, the general announced on Tuesday.
Muhoozi broke the news on X, writing that “Mzee has also instructed me to release AAA from house arrest. We shall do that as well,” using his father’s honorific and Among’s initials. In a follow-up post, he went further, declaring that the once-untouchable former Speaker would not face criminal prosecution at all: “No. We shall not prosecute AAA. She made mistakes but Mzee has decided to forgive her.”
The announcement brings a dramatic close, at least for now to one of Uganda’s most closely watched political falls from grace in recent time, one that saw a woman once counted among the country’s most powerful figures confined to her residence, cut off from her bank accounts, and investigated for corruption, money laundering and illicit enrichment.
From Rising Power to House Arrest
Among’s downfall unfolded rapidly over the course of just a few months. As pressure mounted over her bid to retain the Speakership of the 12th Parliament, public anger erupted after reports surfaced that she had imported a multi-billion-shilling Rolls-Royce Cullinan. The revelation became a lightning rod, and it was Muhoozi, commanding an outsized voice in Ugandan politics as both a military chief and the president’s son who delivered what analysts describe as the decisive blow.
In a pair of pointed posts on X, Muhoozi mocked the extravagance directly, writing that despite being Museveni’s son for 52 years, he had never even ridden in a Rolls-Royce, and doubted his father had either. He followed with a broader shot at graft in public office, insisting that officials were meant to serve Ugandans rather than themselves, and vowing that the peace he had risked his life for would not be “taken by thieves.”
The political fallout was swift. The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), the pressure group chaired by Muhoozi that had initially backed Among’s re-election, publicly withdrew its endorsement in mid-May and threw its support behind Budama North MP Jacob Oboth-Oboth instead. Under mounting pressure, Among withdrew from the Speakership race altogether, and her phone was seized for digital forensic examination.
What followed was a steady tightening of the net. Joint security teams drawing on the Criminal Investigations Directorate, forensic specialists and Defence Intelligence and Security officers raided her properties in Nakasero, Kigo and Bukedea. Her vehicle fleet was impounded, her bank accounts frozen, and she was barred from leaving the country. Heavy deployments of the Special Forces Command and police surrounded her homes, and she was placed under house arrest alongside her husband, FUFA president Moses Magogo, pending investigations into abuse of office and illicit enrichment.
Reports of Deteriorating Health and Financial Strain
As the restrictions dragged on for roughly three months, accounts emerged suggesting Among’s circumstances had become dire. Former Kampala Central MP Muhammad Nsereko told local media he had personally witnessed her physical decline, describing swollen legs consistent with a blood clot and saying she could no longer walk unaided symptoms medical experts noted were consistent with deep vein thrombosis, a condition often worsened by prolonged immobility.
Her financial situation reportedly grew equally strained. With her accounts frozen, Teso-region legislators said they had taken to informally pooling money to help her cover household expenses. One MP was quoted describing the situation as “strange but true” colleagues literally chipping in so their former Speaker could buy food. Among’s community, including the Emorimor (paramount chief) of Teso, appealed directly to officials for intervention on her behalf.
Notably, the pressure on Among was never publicly tied to her role as one of the chief architects of Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, legislation condemned internationally for its harsh penalties. Her fall was framed throughout as a matter of corruption and financial impropriety rather than the human rights record for which she had also drawn criticism.
Others Still Face Prosecution
While Among herself now appears set to walk away without facing court, the broader investigation into financial management within Parliament has not been called off, and several of her former subordinates remain in considerably more precarious positions. Parliament’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Chris Obore; Director of Human Resource, Daniel Adilo; Executive Secretary in the Office of the Speaker, Leonard Okema; Principal Research Officer, Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu; and Principal Protocol Officer, Emmanuel Emuron Okwi, are among the officials who have already been charged at the Anti-Corruption Court and remain on remand as their cases proceed.
That distinction, senior aides facing prosecution while the woman who presided over the institution is spared is likely to fuel further debate over how the affair has been handled.
A Broader Pattern
Among’s saga has increasingly been read by analysts as a case study in where real power now sits in Ugandan politics. Commentators have pointed out that her removal, and the manner in which it was executed largely outside formal government channels, mirrored a pattern in which Muhoozi has directly announced or endorsed major state actions from the shuttering of a leading independent media house to interventions in Kampala’s city council, often with legal processes, if they come at all, following well after the fact.
Whether Tuesday’s announcement marks a genuine end to Among’s ordeal, or simply the next chapter in a saga that has repeatedly turned on the shifting judgments of Uganda’s most powerful family, remains to be seen. For now, though, after months confined to her homes, unable to access her own money, and reportedly battling serious health complications, Anita Among appears set to walk free, forgiven, in Muhoozi’s words, if not entirely cleared.
This is a developing story.
