Muhoozi Directs PLU to Back Museveni’s Speaker Pick Over NRM Endorsed Among

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has told Members of Parliament affiliated with the Patriotic League of Uganda to disregard the ruling NRM party’s endorsement of Anita Among for Speaker and instead vote for whoever President Yoweri Museveni personally backs.

In a series of posts on X on Sunday, the commander of Uganda’s defence forces and PLU chairman was blunt about where his loyalties lie in the contest. “In the battle for Speaker of Parliament, all PLU MPs and PLU-leaning MPs will vote for whoever the President and Commander-in-Chief endorses. We shall support Mzee’s position. PLU supports whatever position President Museveni takes and we do not listen to NRM’s CEC,” he wrote.

His posts came loaded with anti-corruption undertones. “Our job is to serve Ugandans, not ourselves. I cannot support corruption. I risked my life to make this country peaceful. Now that it is, it will not be taken by thieves. Never,” he said in a separate post.

Muhoozi also framed the PLU’s position as one rooted in fiscal responsibility, writing that the party believes in cutting the money directed to parliament and redirecting it to the millions of Ugandans living without clean water, electricity, or decent housing.

The remarks put Muhoozi at odds with the NRM’s Central Executive Committee, which has already endorsed Among for a return to the Speaker’s chair. Among has faced mounting pressure over alleged corruption, most notably reports linking her to the purchase of a Shs3.4 billion Rolls-Royce. President Museveni himself recently hinted that the CEC’s decision is not the final word on the matter.

The stakes are considerable. The 12th Parliament has 553 seats, with NRM holding roughly 350. PLU has claimed influence over as many as 302 MPs, which, if it holds, could be enough to shift the simple-majority vote when Parliament is sworn in between May 13 and 15. No alternative candidate has been publicly named yet by either Muhoozi or the President.