KAMPALA — Uganda’s Parliament is facing growing scrutiny following allegations that hundreds of staff were recruited into the Parliamentary Service without publicly advertised vacancies, raising fresh concerns over transparency, nepotism and abuse of office within the institution.
The controversy has intensified just days after the opening of the 12th Parliament under Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth, who pledged zero tolerance for corruption and misuse of public resources in line with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s directive for accountability in government institutions.
Investigative journalist Agather Atuhaire sparked renewed debate after sharing claims on social media alleging that many of the appointments made since 2021 violated legal recruitment procedures that require vacancies in Parliament to be advertised through the Uganda Gazette and national newspapers.
“These are some of the people that have been recruited into the Parliamentary Service since 2021,” Atuhaire posted on X.
“The law requires that recruitment follows a notice/advert in the gazette and newspapers but the last time there was any job advert for parliament recruitment was in 2016,” she added.
Atuhaire alleged that many of the beneficiaries were relatives and associates of senior political and parliamentary figures.
“Most of these are children of judges, siblings of the Speaker, Parliamentary commissioners, and some opposition bigwigs, friends of the Deputy Speaker, spouses and children of friends,” she claimed.
The allegations have revived criticism directed at the previous parliamentary leadership headed by former Speaker Anita Among and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, with some commentators accusing the administration of overseeing irregular recruitment processes within the institution.
In another post, Atuhaire claimed that additional appointments had allegedly been prepared for former Members of Parliament who lost their seats in the recent elections.
“This leadership was adding more because some of the MPs that lost their seats in the last election had also already been given jobs,” she wrote.
“Their appointments were ready and they were waiting to start when Among got a second term,” she added.
According to her claims, Bugiri Municipality MP Asuman Basalirwa had allegedly been lined up for the role of Executive Secretary, while former Parliamentary Commissioner Afoyochan was reportedly earmarked for a senior research position.
The allegations come after earlier concerns raised in October 2022 when Atuhaire accused Parliament of inducting dozens of new staff members without public advertisements.
“The Speaker of Parliament has this morning inducted 49 new members into the Parliamentary staff (still there was no advert for these jobs anywhere),” she posted at the time.
Meanwhile, Aringa North MP Yorke Odria Alioni has also reportedly accused the previous parliamentary administration of illegally employing more than 500 individuals, allegations he claimed were supported by intelligence reports.
The growing controversy has triggered calls from sections of the public and civil society for investigations by the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and other anti-corruption agencies into the recruitment practices within Parliament.
Critics argue that if proven true, the alleged irregular recruitment could undermine public trust in Parliament and violate principles of fairness, merit and equal opportunity in public service employment.
Parliament had not yet officially responded to the latest allegations by press time.
The debate also comes amid ongoing public scrutiny surrounding former Speaker Anita Among, who has faced corruption-related investigations in recent months and recently withdrew her bid for re-election as Speaker before the commencement of the 12th Parliament.
