The newly elected Speaker of the 12th Parliament, Jacob Oboth Oboth, has declared that under his leadership, the House will be a corruption-free institution.
He further pledged to remain the same person he has always been, stating, “I will not change my character in this office.”
Speaking on his vision for the next five years, the speaker emphasised accountability, beginning with Parliament itself. “We shall hold the executive and other government bodies accountable, but we are going to begin with ourselves because parliament must lead by good example,” he said.
He promised that every Bill, motion, and decision must directly respond to the needs of the ordinary citizen.
“Results must guide our work. 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.”
The outgoing minister of defence and veteran affairs, Oboth, made the above remarks on Monday, May 25, 2026, while addressing the first sitting of the 12th Parliament at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
He spoke shortly after being declared the winner with over 441 votes.
He expressed gratitude to the President of Uganda, Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni; the Chief Justice of the Republic of Uganda, Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija; honourable Members of Parliament; all staff of Parliament; members of the media; and all Ugandans near and far following the proceedings.
He also thanked God for what he called a great day, made possible only by the Almighty.
He noted that the speaker’s chair is not an enthronement. “My role now is to ensure that, working together, the voices of over 45 million Ugandans are heard, protected, and respected.”
He then shared two passages from the Holy Book: Isaiah 60:22, which says, “When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen,” and Habakkuk 2:3, which says, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it will linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
“I can testify before you all gathered here today that faithful and strategic patience has brought us this far, and we cannot thank God enough,” Oboth Oboth said. “I therefore stand before you today in this official Speaker’s regalia not by accident, but because God has made it all possible.
Oboth hails from a rural village in Muwafu, Tororo district. He said: “I struggled to attain a better education, and today I stand before you as Speaker of the 12th Parliament. It can only be by divine grace. To God be the glory.”
He praised the NRM party, through the NRM Parliamentary Caucus, Parliament, and the PLU pressure group, while also acknowledging 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.”
In the next five years, the speaker said there will be a need to strengthen parliament’s oversight function. “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.”
“We are going to serve Parliament and the people of Uganda with humility, modesty, and honour.”
Oboth, who replaced Annet Anita Among, will be deputised by the Ruhinda North MP, Thomas Tayebwa.
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