As corruption investigations tighten around former Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, attention has now shifted back to a striking public warning President Yoweri Museveni delivered barely months ago during the official opening of Bukedea Teaching Hospital and Bukedea College of Health Sciences in March 2024.
The two mega projects, spearheaded by Among in her home district, were at the time praised by Museveni as evidence of “innovation” and ambitious leadership.
But amid the praise, the President repeatedly issued cautionary remarks that have now resurfaced dramatically in light of the ongoing corruption, illicit enrichment, and money laundering investigations targeting the former Speaker.
“I said be careful, I don’t want you to get into debt,” Museveni told guests during his speech.
“And don’t be corrupt, don’t get bribes.”
The President revealed that he personally questioned Among about the source of the money used to build the sprawling school and hospital complex.
“So today, when she was taking me around, I interrogated her,” Museveni said.
“I asked her, ‘Where did you get the money to do this?’”
Museveni recounted that Among explained she had used school fees generated from her education projects to expand into the hospital and health sciences institution.
The President also spoke at length about his political relationship with Among, describing how she initially emerged from the opposition before eventually joining forces with the NRM.
He praised her as “very active” and “hardworking,” recalling how he supported her farming projects with cattle and encouraged her interest in wealth creation.
Yet throughout the speech, Museveni repeatedly returned to one message: avoid debt and corruption.
“A leader with debts cannot think properly,” he warned.
“You don’t sleep, how can you think properly if you don’t sleep?”
At the time, the remarks appeared to many as routine presidential advice. But following the dramatic raids on Among’s residences, the sealing off of her parliamentary office, and widening investigations into alleged corruption and self-enrichment, the speech has now taken on a far more political and prophetic tone.
Security agencies have in recent days intensified operations linked to Among, with investigators reportedly confiscating electronic devices, tracing assets, and declaring parts of Parliament crime scenes as part of the ongoing probe.
The developments ultimately forced Among to withdraw from the Speakership race of the 12th Parliament while pledging cooperation with investigators.
Now, political observers say Museveni’s Bukedea remarks are being replayed across Kampala as many ask whether the President had already sensed trouble brewing behind the scenes.
One line, in particular, is now haunting Uganda’s political conversation:
