The newly elected Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Jacob Oboth Oboth, thanked God, President Museveni, the NRM Party, and Members of Parliament for entrusting him with the leadership of the 12th Parliament. He reflected on his humble beginnings in Tororo District and described his election as a result of faith, patience, and divine grace.
Oboth pledged to lead a corruption-free, transparent, and accountable Parliament that prioritizes the needs of ordinary Ugandans. He also emphasized strengthening parliamentary oversight, promoting integrity, and improving service delivery through results-driven legislation and budgeting. The Speaker further promised to remain humble, work with all Members regardless of political differences, and restore public trust in Parliament.
Below is the detailed speech by the newly elected Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Jacob Oboth Oboth.
“𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐂𝐇 𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐋𝐘 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓, 𝐑𝐓. 𝐇𝐎𝐍. 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐁 𝐎𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇
Your Excellency the President, My Lord the Chief Justice of the Republic of Uganda, Hon. Justice Dr Flavian Zeija, Honourable Members of Parliament, All staff of Parliament, Members of the Media, All Ugandans near and far following these proceedings, Ladies and Gentlemen, I greet you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Your Excellency and Honourable colleagues, allow me to begin by thanking God for this great day that the Lord has made. It is one of those great moments in our nation’s history, made possible only by the Almighty God. Allow me to share with you passages from the Holy Book. The first is from Isaiah 60:22, which says, “When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen.” The second is from the book of Habakkuk 2:3, which says, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it 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. I therefore stand before you today not in this official Speaker’s regalia by accident, but because God has made it all possible.
From a rural village in Muwafu, Tororo District, I struggled to attain 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. I wish to thank my NRM Party Chairman for the confidence and trust he has shown in my abilities since 2011. Honourable Members, I thank you most sincerely for entrusting me today with the highest office of being your Speaker, a responsibility I receive with utmost humility and modesty. God has spoken to Uganda through you all, through the NRM Party, through the NRM Parliamentary Caucus, and through this Parliament and the PLU pressure group.
To those who may not have voted for me, I will be your Speaker too. Honourable Members, the Speaker’s Chair is not enthroned. My role now is to ensure that, working together, the voices of over 45 million Ugandans are heard, protected, and respected. We are aware of the challenges that may be before us. I pledge a corruption-free Parliament. Under my leadership, we will cultivate a culture of integrity and accountability. Accountability begins with us. 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. 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. An open Parliament: we must recognise 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. We must also strengthen our 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.
I invite all Members to embrace these guiding pillars to restore public trust. I appeal to our technical team for continued support as we implement necessary structural changes. My final promise to all Ugandans is that, as I assume this high office of Speaker, I remain the same person and I will not change in character or commitment. Let us all serve the Parliament and the people of Uganda with humility, modesty, and honour. I thank you all. God bless you, and may God bless the Republic of Uganda.”
