‘I narrowly survived Anita Among’s killer hand’ – How an investigative journalist Ivan Okuda escaped the powerful politician’s wrath

For years, it was a silent phantom that trailed Ivan Okuda. Today, it is a public testament to the harrowing cost of truth-telling in Uganda.

In a chilling personal disclosure that has sent shockwaves through the country’s media and political establishments, prominent energy and construction lawyer Ivan Okuda has opened up about how he narrowly survived alleged assassination plots ordered by the former Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among.

The threats, Okuda reveals, were the direct fallout of a high-profile investigative exposé he authored nearly a decade ago, which tied Anita Among to a gruesome 2016 murder and torture ring.

Taking to X on Monday, Okuda painted a terrifying picture of life in the crosshairs of an untouchable political elite.

“Anita Among was actually vicious at the height of her ‘power’. Personally, for writing a story implicating her in a murder, I narrowly survived her killer hand,” Okuda wrote, breaking years of silence.

A terrifying debt of gratitude

The revelation has unmasked a surprising savior in Okuda’s story: State Minister for Education and Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang.

According to Okuda, who was an investigative journalist with the *Daily Monitor* at the time of the reporting, Ogwang stepped in behind the scenes to shield him from a grim fate, prevailing upon Anita Among to back down.

“I’m eternally grateful to my brother Hon. Peter Ogwang who, without me asking, prevailed over her,” Okuda stated. “Maybe I’d be dead.”

> “Anita Among was actually vicious at the height of her ‘power’… I narrowly survived her killer hand.” — Ivan Okuda

While Okuda—now a distinguished Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and a regional representative for Africa with the London Court of International Arbitration—did not detail the exact mechanics of the threats, the historical backdrop of his confession speaks volumes.

The Teso horror story

The roots of this deadly friction trace back to 2016, inside a dark and forgotten chapter of violence in the Teso region.

Four men were intercepted and arrested by security forces following a barbaric assault on a 74-year-old woman. During interrogation, the suspects dropped a bombshell confession: they claimed they were hitmen, hired directly by Anita Among, then a rising Member of Parliament.

The details of the assault were stomach-churning. Investigators revealed that one of the attackers had forced a wooden pestle into the elderly victim’s private parts.

Okuda’s subsequent front-page exposé in the Daily Monitor in 2017, headlined “Hitmen invade Teso, kill and torture with impunity,” shattered the political landscape. Anita Among fiercely denied the allegations and slapped the newspaper with a high-profile defamation lawsuit, though the legal battle was quietly withdrawn years later.

A fallen titan

Okuda’s dramatic confession coincides with a spectacular fall from grace for Anita Among.

Once considered one of the most formidable and feared power brokers in Kampala, Anita Among’s empire began to publicly unravel in May 2026. Under the weight of mounting corruption allegations, a high-profile raid on her Kampala residence, and intense pressure from State House, she was forced to step down from the Speaker’s chair ahead of the new parliamentary term.

Today, the woman who once held sway over the legislature is heavily entangled in ongoing anti-corruption court proceedings.

A nation demands answers

Public reaction to Okuda’s revelation has been swift and volatile. Across social media, citizens and human rights defenders are demanding accountability, with many calling for a formal commission of inquiry into the historic extra-judicial violence and political thuggery linked to Anita Among’s network in the Teso region.

The story remains a developing storm. Hon. Peter Ogwang has yet to publicly comment on his alleged intervention, and efforts by Watchdog Uganda to reach Anita Among’s legal and public relations representatives for a response have so far gone unanswered.

For many in Uganda’s media fraternity, Okuda’s survival story is a sobering reminder of an uncomfortable reality: in the pursuit of truth, crossing paths with giants like Anita Among means the line between a front-page scoop and a premature grave is often razor-thin.

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