Power, the Common Good, and the Reckoning It Always Brings.

Public office is not a private estate. It is a trust, temporarily handed to individuals so they may serve the common good, uphold the rule of law, and safeguard the rights of all citizens. History teaches us, repeatedly and without mercy, that leaders who forget this truth often build systems of fear that eventually turn against them. Uganda’s recent experience offers a sobering lesson.

The tenure of Anita Among, now a former Speaker of Parliament, illustrates how the abuse or neglect of institutional responsibility corrodes not only democracy but also the personal security of those who preside over that decay.

As head of the legislature, the Speaker is the custodian of debate, oversight, and accountability. Yet Parliament under her leadership repeatedly failed to fully interrogate some of the most urgent national concerns. Most disturbing was the systematic blocking and stifling of parliamentary scrutiny into the issue of missing persons; Ugandans who disappeared amid arrests, abductions, or security operations. When Parliament is prevented from asking hard questions about the fate of citizens, it ceases to be the people’s shield and becomes an accomplice to silence.

At the same time, the normalization of military overreach into civilian governance continued largely unchecked. The increasing presence of armed forces in law enforcement, political processes, and civic life eroded the constitutional boundary between civilian authority and military power. Parliament, which should have asserted its oversight role, instead appeared subdued. This failure sent a dangerous message: that power could be exercised without accountability, and force could substitute law.

The judiciary did not escape this institutional weakening. Public confidence in the courts steadily declined as citizens watched politically sensitive cases delayed, mishandled, or seemingly influenced. When the legislature fails to defend judicial independence, justice becomes precarious. And when justice becomes selective, no one, no matter how powerful, is ultimately safe.

Today, the irony is unavoidable. The very environment of impunity, institutional compromise, and fear that was allowed to grow has come full circle. The political and legal troubles now facing Anita Among are unfolding within the same weakened system she helped build and shield. This is not merely personal misfortune; it is a structural reckoning. Power that is exercised without regard for law and rights does not protect its wielders, it traps them.

This moment should serve as a warning to all leaders. Public office must be used to strengthen institutions, not bend them. Leaders must protect human rights not out of charity, but out of enlightened self-interest. A country governed by law, transparency, and accountability is one where former officials can live safely beyond office, confident that rules, not vendettas or unchecked power, will govern their fate.

The lesson is clear: when leaders undermine Parliament, tolerate military overreach, and weaken judicial independence, they plant seeds of instability that do not discriminate. The structures you dismantle today are the same ones you will desperately need tomorrow.

True leadership lies in restraint, respect for law, and service to the common good. Anything less may offer short-term power, but it guarantees a long-term reckoning.