Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, has sparked heated debate after making blunt remarks about the role of opposition MPs in the 12th Parliament following the January 2026 general elections.
While appearing on UBC TV, Baryomunsi claimed that the opposition, now drastically reduced in numbers, will mainly show up in Parliament for meals and allowances, with little capacity to challenge the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) on the floor.
“The opposition will now come to Parliament for breakfast, lunch, and earn their allowances because they can no longer out-debate us,” Baryomunsi said.
His comments come on the back of a landslide victory for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, whose NRM secured a supermajority in the 553-seat Parliament.
Opposition parties, led by the National Unity Platform (NUP), collectively won only about 50 seats, largely concentrated in urban centres such as Kampala.
The results have significantly tilted parliamentary power in favour of the ruling party, reinforcing NRM’s dominance in legislation and debate.
Baryomunsi’s remarks quickly triggered backlash online. Many critics described his tone as arrogant and dismissive, questioning whether Parliament should be reduced to a place for allowances rather than robust national debate.
Others argued that the comments reflect growing public frustration with what they see as unchecked ruling party power and shrinking democratic space, despite the electoral outcome.
As Uganda’s new Parliament settles in, the comments have reignited an old debate: Is Parliament still a battleground of ideas or merely a numbers game
