The speaker of the eleventh parliament, Anita Annet Among wrote on her social media handle at the tail-end of last week that she would not be vying for the same position in the twelfth parliament.
This was after she was put under investigation recently on issues apparently related to her lifestyle and expenditure.
This development has stirred quite a frenzy in the country, with mixed emotions cutting across. Yet, it is difficult not to underscore how in some quarters, Among has been described as one of the biggest advocates for sports development in the country.
Since Among’s ascent to the role of speaker, the discussion of sports got onto the floor of parliament more than it had ever been before according to Robert Jjagwe, the former president of the Uganda Table Tennis Association.
Jjagwe added that this can largely be seen in the fact that sports federations got more funding. Before Among became speaker, the national sports budget was between Shs 17 billion to Shs 20 billion for all the 50 federations. Yet, at her point of departure, the sports budget has shot up to Shs 1.3 trillion.
Of course, the fact that Uganda is one of the three countries hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, is what this big budget can be attributed to. But it goes without saying that she backed her husband Moses Magogo’s idea for Uganda to host Afcon, by pushing it through to the Head of State.
In addition, because of her growing interest in sport, Among started a school in her home area. Bukedea Comprehensive School became a flagship of the region, especially because of how it was modelled around sports. A host of underprivileged children earned sports scholarships at her school.
Notably, Among’s passion for school sports saw parliament extend Federation Grant in Aid to Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA) to a tune of Shs 7 billion annually. This has significantly helped close the gap that was left, especially in football, when Coca-Cola stopped funding the Post-Primary Competition in 2022.
Nevertheless, a host of sports federations hold reservations about the manner in which the parliament headed by Among oversaw the allocation of funds. Jjagwe said: “It does not paint a good picture for our sports sector, where Fufa alone received Shs 17 billion, yet other sports federations received Shs 100 million.”
Back in 2023, a section of sports federations: boxing, table tennis and netball complained about the money that had been allocated to them by parliament, which did not come to pass.
For example, boxing and netball had been allocated Shs 3 billion each. Yet, when they complained about the fact that only a fraction reached their coffers, Moses Muhangi and Sarah Babirye, the bosses of boxing and netball respectively, were instead reprimanded and thrown in jail. All this happened under the watch of Among.
In the long run, funding for both netball and boxing was brought down to Shs 260 million only. Throughout this episode, little came from the speaker or the parliament budget committee to explain why the funding for boxing and netball dropped from Shs 3 billion to Shs 260 million all over a sudden.
But for Among’s critics, their argument was that such issues died a natural death because she was protecting some people. Perhaps, it is a matter whose full details may never be known.
Yet, one of the most surprising moments of her speakership was earlier this year, when Magogo went before the budgeting committee to present Fufa’s budget, something that is supposed to be the preserve of the National Council of Sports (NCS) and the minister of State for Sports.
Until then, no sports federation had ever gone to face a budget committee of parliament to present its budget. NCS used to do that on behalf of all federations. According to Magogo, he did this because NCS had not consulted them before heading out, which he felt was wrong.
Jjagwe and Muhangi agreed with Magogo’s move because they felt NCS and the ministry of Education and Sports had made it a habit to overlook them, and instead present budgets without any consultation to the sports federations’ needs.
Of course, Magogo’s move was wrong, but a desperate one, which some sections of the public understood. However, he was adjudged to have been able to beat the system because the wife was the Speaker.
In fact, even at Fufa, it is apparent that so much of Magogo’s uncompromising stunts, like the new league format, which was dropped eventually, only existed for as long as it did because of Among’s power to reign in on dissenting voices.
It is said that when KCCA FC reported its Gavin Kizito case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against Fufa’s decision, Among played a key part to compel the authority to withdraw the case if they were to continue getting the funding they needed, apparently. This is why Among split opinions.
To some in sports, like The Cranes players, whom she morale boosted with cash incentives before and after games, Among was a king-maker and a true advocate for sports, while to others, she was a bully. Make your pick!
