Former MPs push for health, pension safety net

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The dynamics of Uganda’s political landscape can lead some incumbent MPs to assume they have staying power. But voters can be just as ruthless. Just as a Member of Parliament is beginning to settle in and enjoy the perks of the office, the bell tolls.

This is why political observers emphasise that planning for life after Parliament should begin the day one is sworn into office.

According to Afrobarometer, the 2016 general elections saw only 96 of the 231 direct seat holders from the previous Parliament re-elected—a striking attrition rate of 58 percent.

For many, life outside Parliament is unforgiving. Those who made poor financial choices soon find their hubris fading fast.

Fallback position

Despite having diligently served the country, many former MPs, particularly those excluded from the Parliamentary Pensions Act of 2007, find themselves without medical insurance. With their savings long depleted, when serious illness strikes, many turn to President Yoweri Museveni and other influential figures for help.

On May 3 last year, during a PAU gathering at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala, former Arua Woman MP Animu Angupale shared a troubling account.

“Herbert Lwanga was a member of the 7th Parliament, and he fell sick and had kidney problems. It reached a time when he could not manage it. When he approached us, we came as a team, by then Honourable [Kasule] Lumumba was the secretary general of the NRM party,” she recounted.

“When I approached Lumumba, about Herbert Lwanga. She told me she was rushing to see the President... I think our colleague presented the documents and the State House managed to give our colleague $25,000 (sh95.18 million) for a kidney transplant,” Angupale added.

Glimmer of hope

In response, the Parliamentary Alumni Association (PAA), which brings together 996 former legislators under the leadership of Jacqueline Kyatuheire, has stepped up efforts this term to push for amendments to the law and address this glaring gap.

At the heart of the proposals is the fast-tracking of a controversial one-off sh100 million ex gratia payment that President Yoweri Museveni reportedly promised each former MP during an event nine years ago.

“At our age, if we got that akasiimo, we are not going to look for boyfriends, girlfriends. We shall put it to good use. We are already doing certain activities, and we shall just go on to make sure that those activities go on very well to support the money economy,” she remarked on Saturday.

Complacency of power

And yet, as Zimbabwean trade unionist Benjamin Burombo once remarked, each time one is fighting for Africans, the other hand is busy trying to keep away the same people they are fighting for.

“Unfortunately, when you are in Parliament, you don’t seem to see these. I wouldn’t even get surprised if we got some members in the current Parliament fighting, for example, against the pension and health insurance scheme and others. It is not until you cross to the other side that you can appreciate…” Kyatuheire added.

She made the remarks while officiating at the fourth Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association, which took place on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at the Conference Hall in Parliament.

Minister Anite’s take

The delusion of politicians who believe they will hold office for as long as they wish is nothing new. But for those like investment and privatisation state minister Evelyn Anite, who have seen it all, life has a way of humbling them.

Anite, who previously served as youth state minister and represented Koboko Municipality for two terms before her 2021 defeat by Dr Charles Ayume, son of former Attorney General Francis Ayume, shared her reflections. She was representing President Yoweri Museveni, who, due to a busy schedule, was unable to attend.

“Once upon a time, I visited South Africa when I had just got married to my beloved husband in 2011. And we chose South Africa as our honeymoon destination. While there, we passed through Golgotha Cemetery, and I read something very interesting that stuck in my brain. And it read that ‘where you are, we were and where we are, you will also be. So, treat us with care'. I must say, you are not alone in this, we will all one day become former members of parliament,” Anite pointed out.