Kampala : Parliament is set to debate a motion to increase Uganda’s ministerial ceiling just days after the appointment of more than 80 ministers, triggering scrutiny over government size, political balance, and the cost of maintaining one of the world’s largest executive cabinets.
The first thing the 12th Parliament might do is to increase the already bloated number of ministers. The House is set to debate a motion seeking to increase the total number of Cabinet and other ministers, just days after President Museveni appointed a government team exceeding 80 ministers.
According to the Order Paper for the 2nd Sitting of the 1st Meeting of the 1st Session of the 12th Parliament scheduled for Thursday, May 28, 2026, item 5 on the agenda is a “Motion for a Resolution of Parliament to Vary the Total Number of Cabinet Ministers and Other Ministers under Articles 113 and 114 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.”
The motion, allocated 20 minutes, would effectively raise the constitutional ceiling on the size of the executive.
Under Article 113(2), the number of Cabinet ministers is determined by Parliament, while Article 114(2) gives the legislature similar authority over Ministers of State.
The proposed adjustment comes after the latest appointments pushed Uganda’s executive to about 83 members, including 30 Cabinet ministers, 51 Ministers of State, the Vice President and the Prime Minister — one of the largest executive structures globally.
To put the size in perspective, Uganda’s Cabinet is significantly larger than several regional governments. Neighbouring Kenya operates with around two dozen Cabinet Secretaries and a limited number of principal secretaries. In Tanzania, the Cabinet is also kept in the range of roughly 20–30 ministers.
In many other African states, executive teams are similarly lean. Countries such as Rwanda and Ghana maintain Cabinets of under 30 ministers, often cited as part of efforts to control public expenditure and improve efficiency.
On the global scale, Uganda’s current executive size is notably larger than many middle-income democracies.
In countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada, Cabinet sizes typically range between 20 and 40 senior ministers, with limited junior ministerial posts compared to Uganda’s broad structure of Ministers of State.
Thursday’s motion is expected to reignite debate over the balance between political representation, governance efficiency, and the rising public wage bill.
Critics have long argued that the expansion of the executive increases state expenditure at a time when government continues to emphasise fiscal discipline and service delivery programmes such as the Parish Development Model.
The debate has also been fuelled by internal political tensions following the latest appointments, which left several politically active figures excluded from Cabinet.
On social media, Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Secretary General Daudi Kabanda briefly deactivated his X account on Wednesday amid online trolling after missing out on appointment despite being a vocal supporter in the lead-up to Cabinet announcements.
In a series of posts widely circulated online, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of Defence Forces and leader of PLU, commented on the composition of the new Cabinet, questioning some omissions and decisions.
“I didn’t see my big brother Okello Oryem in the cabinet? Surely can that be possible? Whoever is fighting us in these appointments is an enemy.”
Oryem, son of former President Tito Okello Lutwa, has been a constant in foreign affairs ministry but was dropped in the Tuesday reshuffle.
On Kabanda, Muhoozi added: “My young brother Hon. Kabanda is the General Secretary of the Patriotic League of Uganda, a much more important position than being a cabinet minister. His job is to organise and mobilise the millions of young people in our country. Kabanda will get a ministerial job when Todwong gets one.”
Kabanda on Thursday reactivated his account, saying he had been “ordered to come back.”
The online exchanges appear to highlight underlying tensions within ruling party-aligned networks over patronage, loyalty, and access to executive positions.
If Parliament approves the motion, it would legally clear the way for the President to expand the executive beyond the current structure without constitutional conflict.
The sitting is also expected to handle approval of the Vice President, Prime Minister, and committee assignments, making it one of the most consequential early sessions of the 12th Parliament.
The ministerial ceiling debate is likely to become a key political flashpoint, with implications for public spending, governance structure, and internal political alignment within the ruling establishment.
