By Former Speaker of Parliament also the First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda and the Minister for East African Community Affairs Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, has launched a spirited defense of her record and reaffirmed her candidacy as she seeks re-election to the powerful party post of Second National Vice Chairperson (Women) of the National Resistance Movement (NRM),
Addressing the press in Kampala, Kadaga dismissed rumors circulating online that she had been disqualified from the race, stressing that she remains a duly nominated candidate ahead of next week’s elections.
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“I want to be clear that I am a candidate. Unscrupulous people spread information that I had been disqualified, but that is not true,” Kadaga told journalists, emphasizing her continued commitment to serve.
Kadaga, who has held the position since its creation, outlined her contributions to the party and the nation, citing decades of work in promoting women’s empowerment, youth and disability programs, education, health, and infrastructure.
She highlighted her role in establishing Uganda’s first legal aid service for poor women in 1988, spearheading the Women Empowerment Fund, and personally sponsoring thousands of children through the Kamuli Girls Education Trust Fund. She also pointed to her relentless campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which successfully pushed the government to finance national efforts against the practice.
“I have used my office to facilitate policies that improve the lives of women, youth, and disabled people. I was one of the promoters of the Women Empowerment Fund and I’ve campaigned for decades against FGM. I believe the country has benefited and will continue to benefit from my service,” Kadaga said.
She further reminded the public of her initiatives in Parliament, including introducing policies that secured women’s representation in committee leadership, removing taxes on diapers and sanitary pads, and establishing Uganda’s first workplace daycare center in Parliament later expanded as a national policy to markets and other workplaces.
Kadaga also defended her political clout in Busoga, insisting that her strength lies with ordinary people, not MPs. “My strength is with the people. That is why those who fought me had to lose,” she said, in response to claims that most MPs have rallied behind her challenger.
Her re-election bid comes at a time of heightened competition, with current Speaker of Parliament Anita Among emerging as her formidable rival for the influential NRM seat. The showdown between the two powerful women one a veteran party stalwart, the other the sitting head of Parliament with considerable institutional backing has set the stage for one of the most closely watched contests in the ruling party’s internal polls.
Kadaga, however, brushed off suggestions of stepping aside for “harmonization,” insisting that “we are all in the contest.”
With the NRM’s National Conference around the corner, the Kadaga–Among duel is widely seen as a defining moment for women’s leadership within the party, and a test of generational and regional influence in shaping the ruling party’s next political direction.
