State Minister for Investment and Privatization, Evelyn Anite, has revealed that she does not regret supporting the removal of the presidential age limit. Reflecting on her political journey from 2011 to 2021—when she lost her seat as Koboko Municipality MP—Anite stood by her controversial stance.
The age limit bill, tabled in 2017 by Igara East MP (now Minister) Raphael Magyezi, led to the removal of both the lower and upper presidential age limits of 35 and 75 years, respectively. This paved the way for President Yoweri Museveni to run in the 2021 presidential elections.
“I don’t regret what I did in supporting the removal of the presidential age limits, because even now, I’m still asking him (President Museveni) to stand in 2026,” Anite said.
Reflecting on her journey, Anite shared that the 2021 elections taught her many lessons—chief among them was learning the true value of money.
She recalled withdrawing Shs 500 million and spending it in just one week during the election campaign period in Koboko, mostly distributing funds to women’s SACCOs. Despite the generous spending, she was voted out of Parliament.
“Given the job I’m doing now, I’ve realized that life doesn’t begin and end with politics. You don’t make real money in politics. These days, it’s hard for me to wake up, withdraw cash from the bank, and drive to Koboko to blow it all in two days on political activities,” she said.
Anite previously served as State Minister for Youth from March 1, 2015, succeeding Ronald Kibuule, who was later appointed State Minister for Water Resources.
She represented Koboko Municipality in the West Nile sub-region from 2011 until 2021. In the 2020 National Resistance Movement (NRM) primaries, Anite lost her seat to Charles Ayume, the son of the late Francis Ayume, a former Speaker of Parliament.
Back in February 2014, during the NRM Parliamentary Caucus ahead of the 2016 elections, Anite moved the resolution to declare President Museveni the party’s sole flag bearer. This resolution, known as the Kyankwanzi Resolution, was met with significant resistance.
Following her support for the age limit amendment, Anite claimed she received multiple death threats, prompting the government to assign her a security detail. She also publicly referred to legislators opposed to the bill as “selfish hooligans.”
In her defense of the bill, Anite controversially stated that the ruling party had “the numbers and the national army on their side.” However, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) later distanced itself from this statement.
