Anita Among Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable Speaker
Anita Among
Office:Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda
Term Start:25 March 2022
President:Yoweri Museveni
Predecessor:Jacob Oulanyah
Birth Date:1973 11, df=y
Birth Place:Bukedea District, Uganda
Nationality:Ugandan
Citizenship:Uganda
Alma Mater:
    Occupation:Accountant, Politician, Lawyer
    Known For:Politics
    Speaker of the 11th Parliament of Uganda
    Party:National Resistance Movement
    Children:3

    Anita Annet Among (born 23 November 1973) is a Ugandan accountant, lawyer and politician who is the Speaker of the 11th Parliament of Uganda since 2022.[1] [2] She also concurrently serves as the elected member of parliament for the Bukedea District Women Constituency, the same position she held in the 10th Parliament (2016–2021).[3] She was in FDC party before she joined the ruling NRM where she was voted as the Deputy Speaker of the 10th Parliament. She is named in the torture complaint against the Ugandan government that was submitted with the International Criminal Court.[4]

    She is the proprietor of Bukedea Comprehensive Academy, a co-educational boarding school founded in 2018. The academy, located in Bukedea District[5], also offers vocational training alongside its academic programs[6]

    Early life and education

    Among was born in Bukedea District on 23 November 1973. She attended local schools for her elementary and secondary education. She graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, from Makerere University, in 2005. In 2008, she was awarded a Master of Business Administration degree, also by Makerere University.[7]

    In 2018, Among graduated from Kampala International University, with a Bachelor of Laws degree.[8] At that time she was in the process of attaining qualification as a Chartered Certified Accountant.

    Career

    From 1998 to 2006, Among worked at Centenary Bank, one of the large commercial banks in the country. At the time she left in 2006, she had risen to the rank of branch manager. For the ten years prior to her election to Parliament, she served as a lecturer in accounting, at Makerere University Business School and Kampala International University.

    Politics

    For two parliamentary election cycles in 2007, when Bukedea District was created, and in 2011, Among lost the District Woman Representative seat to Rose Akol of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) political party.

    Among, a long-time member of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) political party, ran in 2016 as an independent candidate. She won and is the incumbent MP.

    In 2020, she joined the National Resistance Movement (NRM) after falling out with her party FDC and won the party primaries. In the 2021 general elections, Among was one of the few legislators who was elected unopposed to join the 11th Parliament though her victory was contentious because the electoral commission blocked some of her competitors from nomination.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

    Among declared her bid for the Deputy Speakership of the 11th parliament of Uganda.[16] [17] [18] [19]

    Among was elected as the new Speaker of the parliament of Uganda on the March 25, 2022 replacing Jacob Oulanyah, the former Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, who died in Seattle, Washington.[20] [21] [22]

    In 2023, she urged members of the Ugandan National Assembly to support a new bill that would make the mere fact of identifying oneself as LGBT illegal and risk up to ten years of incarceration.[23]

    In the 10th Parliament, Among served as the Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE).[24]

    International Sanctions

    On 30 April 2024, the UK's Foreign Office announced personal sanctions against Anita Among and two other high Ugandan officials under its Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime for their involvement in significant corruption, making her a subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban.[25] [26] On 30 May, Among and several other Ugandan officials were sanctioned by the US State Department on charges of corruption.[27]

    Personal life

    Among and her husband Moses Magogo Hassim have a pair of twins. Earning her the title of Nnalongo in Uganda. She introduced him to her parents in a traditional marriage ceremony. She also is rumored to have a son with one of Forum for Democratic Change's officials in western Uganda, Patrick Baguma Atenyi.[28]

    See also

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: 2022-03-25 . NRM's Anita Among beats Opposition's Basalirwa to become Speaker,after gathering a total number of 401 valid votes against 66 votes scored by her opponent Asuman Basalirwa in a speaker election held on 25th March 2022 at Kololo independence grounds Kampala. . 2022-03-25 . Monitor . en.
    2. Web site: Speaker of Parliament Parliament of Uganda . 2023-03-22 . www.parliament.go.ug.
    3. Web site: MP Among's rise, connections leave key questions unanswered . 21 September 2016 . . Edris . Kiggundu . Kampala.
    4. Web site: 2023-07-23 . Speaker Among named in fresh ICC torture petition . 2023-08-29 . Monitor . en.
    5. Web site: 2019-04-28 . Museveni: Anita Among is a ‘Good Independent’ MP . 2024-08-21 . ChimpReports . en-US.
    6. Web site: Betsy . Norah . 2021-11-08 . Bukedea Comprehensive Academy, New Curriculum Implementation, Teaching and Learning Resources, ICT Club, Staff Professional Development. . 2024-08-21 . KAWA Uganda . en-US.
    7. Web site: Parliament of Uganda: office of the speaker [Anita Among] ]. 2022 . 2022-08-16 . . Parliament of Uganda . Kampala . 7 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190107124413/https://www.parliament.go.ug/mp_database/profile.php?mid=178 . dead .
      Web site: Parliament of Uganda Members of the 10th Parliament: Among Anita Annet: Bukedea District Woman Representative . . 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190107124413/https://www.parliament.go.ug/mp_database/profile.php?mid=178 . 2019-01-07 . deviated .
    8. Web site: MP Anita Among Graduates From KIU . Campusbee Uganda . 6 January 2019 . 23 June 2018 . David . Mujuni . Kampala.
    9. Web site: Voters petition EC over Bukedea MP's academic papers. 2021-04-03. Daily Monitor. 27 October 2020. en.
    10. Web site: Correspondent. GEORGE OKELLO PML Daily Senior. 2020-11-01. Bukedea Woman MP Anita Among unopposed as EC cancels nomination of her six rivals. 2021-04-03. PML Daily. en-US.
    11. Web site: Two Women Aspirants Blocked from Nomination in Bukedea. 2021-04-03. Uganda Radionetwork. en.
    12. Web site: 2020-12-17. Anita Among's Unopposed Victory Hanging On Thin Thread As Court Of Appeal Decides. 2021-04-03. East News. en-US.
    13. Web site: Independent. The. 2021-03-24. Court declines to order EC to degazette MP Anita Among. 2021-04-03. The Independent Uganda. en-US.
    14. Web site: 2020-10-31. MP Anita Among's opponent cries foul after she is declared unopposed in Bukedea. 2021-04-03. Nile Post. en-US.
    15. Web site: Daily. OUR REPORTER PML. 2021-03-23. BREAKING! Court upholds EC's decision to Gazette MP Anita Among as "unopposed". 2021-04-03. PML Daily. en-US.
    16. Web site: MP Anita Among Declares Bid for Deputy Speaker Slot The Kampala Post. 2021-04-03. kampalapost.com.
    17. Web site: Battle for Deputy Speaker job heats up as minister joins race. 2021-04-03. Daily Monitor. 3 February 2021 . en.
    18. Web site: Independent. The. 2021-03-18. Deputy speaker's race: Bukedi MPs ask Oboth Oboth to do more consultions. 2021-04-03. The Independent Uganda. en-US.
    19. Web site: Seven Eyeing Deputy Speakers Job in Parliament. 2021-04-03. Uganda Radionetwork. en.
    20. Web site: Wamala . Maria . 2022-08-16 . Oulanyah died before accessing treatment – Aceng . live . 2022-03-25 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20220325124040/https://www.newvision.co.ug/articledetails/129819/oulanyah-died-before-accessing-treatment---ac . 2022-03-25.
    21. Web site: Museveni explains why he delayed Oulanyah death announcement . 2022-03-25 . New Vision . en.
    22. Web site: Speaker Oulanyah dead . 2022-03-25 . New Vision . en.
    23. Web site: L'Ouganda Débat d'un Projet de Loi Rendant Illégale l'Identification LGBTQ . 10 March 2023 .
    24. Web site: . 'Let us do our job,' opposition tells Uganda's Speaker . 6 January 2016 . 5 January 2019 . Dicta Asiimwe . and Halima Abdallah . Nairobi.
    25. Web site: UK sanctions corrupt politicians in Uganda who stole from vulnerable communities . 2024-05-02 . GOV.UK . en.
    26. Web site: Financial Sanctions Notice 30/04/2024 .
    27. Web site: US sanctions Uganda’s parliament speaker and others over corruption and rights abuses . 2024-05-30 . Associated Press . en.
    28. Web site: 2019-09-20 . Stephen Kalema . PROFILE: All eyes on Anita Among as Bukedea MP becomes most powerful woman politician . 2022-08-16 . Watchdog Uganda . en-GB.