Mwiru concedes defeat, pledges to work with Speaker Oboth-Oboth

KAMPALA - After a decisive defeat at Kololo Ceremonial Ground for the position of Speaker of the 12th Parliament on Monday, Jinja South East representative Paul Mwiru has conceded defeat and pledged to work with the winner, Jacob Oboth-Oboth.

Submitting in the House, Mwiru, a Member of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, said despite what happened at Kololo on Monday, he accepts the results. “I concede defeat, and I pledge to work with you,” said Mwiru.

Mwiru has since been appointed by NUP as the Opposition Chief Whip, a role that places him at the centre of coordinating opposition strategy inside Parliament despite losing the Speakership contest.

Responding to Mwiru’s comment, Oboth-Oboth, who chaired the plenary, welcomed Mwiru’s comments, saying, “I thank you for conceding defeat, and I hope it was a fair game.”  

Oboth-Oboth scored 441 to defeat Mwiru, who scored 60, while Democratic Party candidate Nobert Mao scored 15 votes.

The contest for the Speakership of Uganda’s 12th Parliament had, for weeks, shaped political discussions both inside Parliament and within the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party corridors.

It emerged after government instituted investigations of the former Speaker, Anita Among, whose tenure had been overshadowed by allegations of corruption and increasing pressure from both opposition figures and sections of the ruling establishment.

As the new Parliament prepared for its first sitting on Monday, attention quickly shifted to who would take control of the House.

The race gradually narrowed around Oboth-Oboth, a long-serving legislator and former defence minister viewed by many within the NRM as a consensus candidate capable of restoring calm and institutional order to Parliament.

Oboth-Oboth’s supporters argued that his understanding of parliamentary procedure and his relatively low-profile political style made him suitable for guiding a House entering a politically sensitive term.