Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has revealed that patience was the strongest tool that guided him into his long-desired office.
In a report filed by The NewVision, Tayebwa confesses that becoming the Deputy Speaker of Parliament has been his goal ever since he embraced elective politics.
Despite becoming Deputy Speaker, Tayebwa recounted that his bid for the deputy speakership after the general election failed because most of the MPs came from his home region (Western Uganda).
The new Deputy Speaker has revealed that he should have gotten into his current political office earlier in 2021, but he notes that he was betrayed by people he referred to as his very own.
“I failed to be Deputy Speaker during the 2021 race because of the people that I called my very own from the western region that betrayed me. The majority of the people that betrayed me. The majority of the people that supported me this time around were not even from the West,” he said.
Tayebwa, however, notes that he does not regret his earlier shortcomings because they made up for a huge part of who he is now.
“I must confess, I wanted to become the Speaker of the Parliament, but God first tested me and I can’t brag that this is how I wanted to become Deputy Speaker. If I had become the Deputy Speaker of Parliament in the past nine months, I would have made a lot of mistakes that I would be regretting right now,” he noted.
Tayebwa made these remarks on Palm Sunday while at Kitante Primary School in Kampala.
The new Speaker encouraged politicians to learn the culture of patience if they are to succeed.
“When I pulled out of the race, many people abused me and others accused me of being bribed by the ruling government, but the same people have since congratulated me,” Tayebwa said.
Formerly, Tayebwa served as the Chief Whip of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in Parliament. He was recently appointed Deputy Speaker following the death of Jacob Oulanyah, which led to the election of Anita Among as the Speaker of the 11th Parliament.