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Speaker Anita Annet Among has called for the Ministries of Education and Gender to resolve their differences over the National Kiswahili Council Bill 2024 at the Cabinet level. The bill aims to establish a council to promote Kiswahili, but lawmakers are divided on whether it should fall under the Ministry of Education or Gender.

Speaker Anita Annet Among has called upon the Ministries of Education and Gender to resolve their differences concerning the National Kiswahili Council Bill 2024 at the Cabinet level.

She made this statement during a plenary session on October 2, 2024, at the second reading of the Uganda National Kiswahili Council Bill 2023. The bill, tabled by Hon. Betty Amongi, seeks to establish a nine-member council appointed by the Minister of Gender. The council would include representatives from Kiswahili associations, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF), Kiswahili media, university academics, and the Ministry of Education, among others. Members will serve for a renewable five-year term, with the council aimed at promoting Kiswahili.

Several legislators, including Brig. Charity Bainababo, expressed concerns regarding the decision to place the Kiswahili Council under the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development (MOGLSD). Bainababo highlighted that Kiswahili is critical for national unity and suggested that it would be more appropriate for the council to be under the Ministry of Education.

Stephen Bakka Mugabi (Bukooli North, NRM) supported this view, emphasizing that Kiswahili, spoken by over 100 million people, is vital for integration, development, and trade. He argued that placing Kiswahili under the Ministry of Education, similar to other languages, would be logical. He warned that placing it under the Ministry of Gender could hinder its progress.

In response, Speaker Among affirmed that Kiswahili is an examinable subject and is part of the education curriculum. She urged the Ministries of Gender and Education to resolve the matter at the Cabinet level. State Minister for Sports, Peter Ogwang, added that the Ministry of Education would recruit, train, and deploy teachers to teach Kiswahili. However, he noted that the current bill placed the matter under the Ministry of Gender, pending further guidance from the Prime Minister.

This debate follows previous discussions in committee proceedings, where some MPs, including Hon. Rose Mary Nyakikongoro, questioned the rationale of housing the Kiswahili Council under the Ministry of Gender, given that Kiswahili is taught from primary to university levels. Others, such as Allan Mayanja Ssebunya, suggested that the council should be under the Ministry of East African Community Affairs.

Nonetheless, the State Minister for Gender and Culture, Hon. Peace Regis Mutuuzo, has consistently defended the bill, arguing that Kiswahili, as a local language with Bantu origins, belongs under the Ministry of Gender, which is responsible for local languages and culture.

According to Dr. Boaz Mutungi, a Kiswahili lecturer at Makerere University, this approach aligns with practices in other East African countries, where Kiswahili councils fall under cultural ministries.

The establishment of the Uganda National Kiswahili Council is in accordance with Article 119(d) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, which calls for partner states to promote indigenous languages, particularly Kiswahili, as a lingua franca across the region.