Democratic Party (DP) leader Norbert Mao has dismissed remarks by former Aruu County MP Odonga Otto, who questioned his bid for the Speaker of Parliament, describing the comments as a “low brow copycat attempt” and defending his earlier political statements.
Odonga Otto had downplayed Mao’s chances in the speakership race, comparing them to “someone saying the chances of Full Figure becoming Miss Uganda,” a remark that has since stirred political debate.
In his response, Mao said Otto had borrowed from a past statement he made in a different political context, arguing that the analogy was not original and had been taken out of context.
“This is a low brow copycat attempt to recycle something I said long ago when the newvisionwire interviewed me about Betty Nambooze’s ‘Bad DP’ campaign to discredit the party leadership,” Mao said.
He added that his earlier comment had been directed at internal party politics, where he dismissed claims that Betty Nambooze could lead the Democratic Party.
“I answered that her ‘chances of leading DP is as good as her chances of becoming Miss Uganda,’” Mao said.
Mao further framed the exchange as a matter of intellectual approach, saying political analysis should go beyond surface-level interpretation.
“But original thinking is not for everyone. Most people stop at inductive and deductive reasoning, but some of us venture beyond and go into abductive reasoning,” he said.
He described abductive reasoning as the ability to “see what lies in the empty spaces between dots,” arguing that it allows for deeper political interpretation.
Mao also pointed to his earlier assessment of parliamentary leadership changes, saying his political reading had been ahead of others.
“That is why several weeks ago I was the only one able to see the former Speaker as an ‘outgoing’ Speaker. No amount of deductive and inductive reasoning could lead to that conclusion,” he said.
The exchange comes as debate intensifies around the speakership race, with political figures weighing in on the likely contenders and the shifting dynamics within Parliament.