A dramatic closed-door meeting at State House has emerged as the possible turning point in the stunning political collapse of outgoing Speaker Anita Among, with insider accounts now painting a picture of fear, intrigue, power struggles and desperate damage control at the highest levels of Uganda’s ruling establishment.
The explosive claims were made by veteran journalist and political insider Andrew Mwenda, who reveals that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni personally convened a highly sensitive State House meeting involving Among, former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and senior religious leaders.
According to Mwenda whose remarks are contained in a viral clip, the meeting was initially presented as an intervention over Anita Among’s growing political troubles. But events reportedly took a shocking twist moments after participants settled in.
Mwenda claims Museveni played audio and video recordings allegedly linked to Kadaga, accusing her of involvement in plots targeting key figures within the First Family and Among herself, allegations so explosive that they reportedly left the room stunned. The claims have not been independently verified, and neither State House nor Kadaga has publicly responded to them.
JUJU
Among the most explosive claims made by journalist Andrew Mwenda were allegations that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni confronted former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga during a closed-door State House meeting over alleged visits to a traditional healer. Mwenda claimed Museveni played audio and video recordings allegedly linking Kadaga to discussions involving witchcraft and alleged plots targeting senior figures within the First Family and Speaker Anita Among. The allegations have not been independently verified, and no official evidence has been publicly released to support the claims.
According to Mwenda’s narration, the atmosphere inside the meeting reportedly turned tense after the recordings were played, with Kadaga allegedly admitting to visiting the traditional healer before apologizing. Neither Kadaga nor State House has publicly commented on the allegations. The sensational claims have since sparked intense debate within political circles, further exposing the deep mistrust, factional battles and behind-the-scenes intrigue shaping the fierce succession struggles inside the ruling National Resistance Movement.
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But the real political earthquake, insiders say, came later.
As religious leaders reportedly raised concerns about Among’s rapidly expanding wealth empire, Museveni is said to have moved quickly to defend parts of her fortune, allegedly telling the meeting that he personally knew the origins of some of her properties and investments.
“I know the Ntinda house… I contributed to the Nakasero house… I gave her cows,” Mwenda quoted Museveni as saying during the meeting.
The President reportedly argued that while allegations about “50 houses” required investigation, some claims about Among’s wealth were exaggerated because he had directly supported some of her projects over the years.
The revelations now shed fresh light on the dramatic chain of events that followed.
Within days, security pressure around Among intensified. Reports of investigations into alleged corruption, illicit wealth accumulation and abuse of office escalated sharply. Then came the political bombshell: Among quietly withdrew from the Speakership race she once appeared certain to win.
On Thursday, the ruling National Resistance Movement Central Executive Committee (CEC) formally scrapped its earlier endorsement of Among and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa and reopened the process.
NRM Electoral Commission chairperson Dr Tanga Odoi later confirmed that Among had written to Museveni withdrawing from the race and pledging support for whoever the party would endorse.
Museveni reportedly replied immediately, thanking her for the decision and assuring her of continued cooperation within the party leadership.
CEC subsequently endorsed Jacob Oboth-Oboth for Speaker while retaining Tayebwa for Deputy Speaker, effectively ending Among’s grip on one of the country’s most powerful political offices.
For months, political observers had described Among as one of the most influential figures inside the NRM power structure, with Mwenda himself previously arguing that she had become indispensable to Museveni’s political machine.
But insiders now say the system that built Among may have ultimately turned against her.
“The lion has roared,” Mwenda recently wrote while describing the growing state crackdown around Among’s inner circle.
Whether Among’s political career survives this storm remains one of the biggest unanswered questions in Uganda’s fast-changing power game.
