Jacob Oboth Elected Speaker of 12th Parliament, Pledges Corruption-Free and Open House

KAMPALA – The newly elected Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Jacob Oboth, has officially taken the Chair of the 12th Parliament, vowing to lead a corruption-free, accountable, and transparent legislative body.

In his maiden speech delivered after assuming the highest office in Parliament, Oboroth credited divine intervention for his rise from a rural village in Muafu, Tororo District, to the pinnacle of Uganda’s legislative branch. Dressed in the official Speaker’s regalia, he quoted scriptures from Isaiah 60:22 and Habakkuk 2:3, declaring that “faithful and strategic patience” had brought him this far.

“I stand before you today not in this official Speaker’s regalia by accident, but because God has made it all possible,” Oboroth said. “From a rural village… I struggled to attain better education, and today I stand before you as Speaker. It can only be by divine grace.”

A Pledge for Accountability

In a direct address to the 45 million Ugandans he now represents, Oboroth made his most definitive promise: a corruption-free Parliament. He acknowledged the challenges ahead but insisted that integrity must begin within the legislative arm of government.

“Accountability begins with us,” he declared. “In the next five years, we shall hold the Executive and other government bodies accountable, but we must first begin with ourselves. Parliament must lead by example.”

The Speaker outlined a results-driven agenda, stating that budgeting and appropriation will no longer be “an exercise in financial engineering and distortion” but a focused effort to deliver services to ordinary citizens.

Real-time Oversight and Media Relations

Oboroth signaled a significant shift in parliamentary oversight, calling for committees to act in real time to protect public resources rather than conducting “post-mortem” investigations after funds are lost.

He also extended an olive branch to the press, urging Members of Parliament to recognize 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,” he noted.

Unity and Personal Commitment

Thanking President Yoweri Museveni (Chairman of the NRM party) for his trust since 2011, and the NRM Parliamentary Caucus and PLU pressure group for their support, Oboroth reached out to his political rivals.

“To those who may not have voted for me, I will be your Speaker too,” he assured.

Concluding his address, Oboroth promised Ugandans that despite his new high office, his character and commitment would remain unchanged. “I remain the same person,” he emphasized.

He urged all Members to serve with “humility, modesty, and honour,” and invoked God’s blessing upon the Republic of Uganda.

The 12th Parliament now sits under his gavel, with the immediate task of translating these pledges into legislative action.