Mao Urges Clerk to Delay MPs' Induction Until After Speaker Election

Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao has appealed to the Clerk of Parliament to postpone the induction of new MPs until the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament are elected.

In a letter sent on April 27, 2026, Mao expressed concerns over the scheduled programme, which places the orientation immediately after MPs are sworn in but before parliamentary leadership is determined. He fears this timing could allow the outgoing Speaker, Anita Among—a frontrunner in the race alongside himself—to leverage the event for her candidacy.

Mao highlighted that Among has selected most of her supporters as presenters, potentially turning the session into a campaign platform rather than an educational one. ‘Given their bias in favour of the outgoing Speaker, they are likely to spend more time promoting the candidature of the outgoing Speaker rather than imparting useful knowledge,’ he wrote.

He likened the scenario to training a sports team before appointing its captain and advocated for an impartial body, like a revived Institute of Parliamentary Studies, to handle such exercises. Mao noted that Parliament is only fully constituted post-election of leaders and referenced distractions at the recent NRM retreat in Kyankwanzi as evidence.

Parliament’s Communications Director, Chris Obore, defended the plan, stating it addresses past complaints about insufficient orientation time due to tight schedules between swearing-in and full duties. He emphasized that the induction is managed by the Parliamentary Service under the Clerk, not the Speaker, and features experienced former MPs selected for their expertise.

Obore dismissed Mao’s allegations as unfounded political interference and urged allowing technical staff to proceed.

Source: Daily Monitor