The newly elected Speaker of Uganda’s 12th Parliament, Jacob Marksons Oboth, has pledged to lead a corruption-free Parliament, promising sweeping reforms aimed at restoring public trust and strengthening accountability in government.
Oboth, who won the Speakership with an overwhelming 441 votes against 60 for Paul Mwiru and 15 for Norbert Mao, made the commitment shortly after taking oath and receiving instruments of power from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during the inaugural sitting of the 12th Parliament at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
In his maiden speech as Speaker, Oboth declared that integrity and accountability would define his leadership. “We are aware of the challenges that may be before us. I pledge a corruption-free Parliament. Under my leadership, we will cultivate a culture of integrity and accountability,” Oboth said.
The Speaker stressed that Parliament must first hold itself accountable before demanding accountability from the Executive and other public institutions.
“Accountability begins with us. In the next five years, we shall hold the Executive and other government bodies accountable, but we must first begin with ourselves. Parliament must lead by example,” he added.
Oboth also promised to overhaul the budgeting and appropriation process, saying Parliament would focus on service delivery rather than political or financial manipulation.
“Budgeting and appropriation will no longer be an exercise in financial engineering and distortion, but a results-driven endeavour to deliver services to our people,” he said.
The Speaker further pledged to strengthen Parliament’s oversight role by ensuring committees act early to prevent the loss of public funds instead of reacting after scandals emerge.
“Oversight should not be a post-mortem. We must not wait for public funds to be lost; our committees should be empowered to act in real time to protect public resources,” Oboth noted.
He also promised greater openness in Parliament and praised the media for its watchdog role. “We must recognise that the media is not our enemy, but the public’s eye. A transparent and open Parliament strengthens trust between the House and the people,” he said.
Oboth, who traced his journey from a rural village in Muwafu, Tororo District, to the Speaker’s chair, described his rise as an act of divine grace and thanked the ruling National Resistance Movement and President Museveni for trusting him with leadership responsibilities since 2011.
“To those who may not have voted for me, I will be your Speaker too,” he told Members of Parliament.
Meanwhile, Thomas Tayebwa was elected Deputy Speaker with 457 votes, defeating Asinansi Nyakato and Sarah Aguti. Tayebwa later took the oath and received the instruments of power from President Museveni.
