KAMPALA. Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa has dismissed media reports that he was “quietly scheming” for the position of the Speaker in the next Parliament.
Mr Kutesa, who is among the few unopposed parliamentary candidates from the ruling party, said in a statement issued yesterday that he was not interested in becoming the Speaker of the 10th Parliament, which commences next year in May after the general election.
The statement followed a story published in a local newspaper yesterday that he was also covertly undermining the current Speaker, Ms Rebecca Kadaga.
“I want everybody to know that I have neither the desire nor interest in becoming Speaker of Parliament of Uganda,” he said. “Anybody who knows my political history stretching over decades would know that; (1) I do not engage in intrigue or clique formation; (2) I do not backstab my comrades.”
The former president of the United Nations General Assembly described the media reports as unfounded and false rumours which he said should be dismissed with contempt.
“The authors of these false rumours are well-known and so are their intentions” Mr Kutesa said.
Earlier, he said he was happy as a minister and had talked to Ms Kadaga to express his displeasure at the media reports. “That’s not how we work in the NRM. That’s rubbish because I’m happy where I am,” the minister said.
Who is Kutesa?
Mr Sam Kutesa was elected president of the United Nations General Assembly’s 69th Session on June 11, 2014, occupying the position between September 16, 2014, and September 16, 2015. He has been foreign affairs minister since 2005, a job he took up after having served as state minister for finance (investment). Previously, he served as state minister for Investment 2001 to 2005. Between 1994 and 1995, he served as a delegate to the Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1995 Uganda Constitution.
rkasasira@ug.nationmedia.com
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