Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, has responded sharply to remarks made by former Aruu County MP Odonga Otto, who suggested that Mao accepted a ministerial position in government out of financial desperation.
Speaking during an interview on Next Radio on Saturday, Otto claimed that Mao’s entry into cabinet was driven by personal survival rather than political principle, alleging he was “likely going to die of hunger” before accepting the appointment.
In his response, Mao dismissed the accusations, insisting that his decision to join government was neither impulsive nor motivated by material need.
He emphasized that ministerial positions come with significant benefits, but argued that his political choices have always gone beyond financial considerations.
“A ministerial appointment comes with substantial material benefits but everybody who knows me knows that I’m not in politics for money,” Mao said. He added that he was offered the position in June 2021 but only assumed office in July 2022, after more than a year.
Mao questioned the logic behind the allegation, asking whether someone supposedly “dying of hunger” would wait that long to take up a role that was already available to him.
He further suggested that his critics were overly fixated on material gain in politics, a mindset he dismissed as shallow and misleading.
“There is something more at stake beyond the ‘eating’ which some political low lives and trolls are obsessed with,” he said.
Otto, a long-serving opposition figure known for his outspoken political style, has not yet issued a further response to Mao’s remarks.
He served in Parliament for two decades before losing his seat in 2021 and has remained a vocal commentator on Uganda’s political landscape.
The exchange highlights ongoing tensions in Uganda’s political discourse, where questions of integrity, service, and personal motivation frequently intersect with debates on state appointments and opposition criticism.