A stunning tirade by Rebecca Kadaga in which she weaponised her standing as a pillar in the Busoga community and publicly discussed her perceived victimisation during the race for the House speakership in 2021 took the biscuit during Saturday’s tense National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at State House, Entebbe. Kadaga, the First Deputy Prime Minister and incumbent Second National Vice Chairperson of the ruling NRM party’s top organ, finds herself in the fight of her life. Anita Among, the current House Speaker, is interested in replacing her in the top echelons of NRM’s Central Executive Committee (CEC). At State House, Entebbe, Kadaga portrayed herself as an old pair of hands and Among as a Johnny-come-lately. At least in the NRM party. This had shades of Amama Mbabazi telling Kizza Besigye—as memorably was the case in 2001—that he was “jumping the queue.” Among, Kadaga pointedly noted, “has only worked [in NRM] for three years.” Allowing the House Speaker to have a crack at the Second National Vice Chairperson position equated to “gerrymander[ing] the guidelines. Kadaga talked about patiently waiting for seven years before she was given a ministerial position. Then she whined about being hounded out of the office of the House Speaker. Displeased with the treatment being handed to her, Kadaga’s community could, she warned, vote with its feet during next year’s General Elections. President Museveni’s response? “You are wrong to say that anybody is hunting you. And also it is not correct for you to involve my people in [Busoga sub-region] to try to give the impression that if it is not you, the Basoga are not there.” Among’s response was terser. The House Speaker continued with her well-calibrated plan of casting Kadaga as someone who is well past her sell-by date. “I’m a generational leader,” Among claimed.
Uganda’s Cinderella story in the ongoing African Nations Championship (Chan) came to a screeching halt on Saturday after suffering a 1-0 against reigning champions Senegal at the Mandela National Stadium. After opening their campaign with a chastening 3-0 defeat against Algeria, Uganda had made the most of its home advantage to go on a three-match unbeaten run that saw the hosts punch their ticket to the knockout stages. But after scoring an impressive eight goals in their three Group C matches against Guinea, Niger and South Africa, the Cranes were held scoreless by a Senegalese outfit that barely put a foot wrong in what turned out to be a defensive masterclass. The Lions of Teranga struck shortly after the hour mark through Oumar Ba to secure a semifinal tie against Morocco. The Atlas Lions booked their semifinal berth after edging past co-hosts Tanzania 1-0 at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Friday. Oussama Lamlioui struck the winning goal after 65 minutes. The other semifinal will see Madagascar take on Sudan. After playing out a one-all draw with co-hosts Kenya, Madagascar showed nerves of steel to win their quarterfinal penalty shootout 4-3. Sudan also won a shootout of their own after their quarterfinal clash with Algeria ended in another one-all draw.