The National Coffee (Amendment) Bill, 2024 debate took a wild turn last week, with Parliament turning into a battleground instead of the house of debate it’s meant to be.
On Tuesday afternoon, November 12, 2024, the Leader of the Opposition in parliament Hon Joel Ssenyonyi called a presser at Parliament where he condemned the shocking scenes, calling the violence “despicable” and a disgrace to democracy.
Ssenyonyi blasted Parliament’s handling of the debate, revealing how journalists were dragged out, detained, and even left in the dark after network jamming killed all communication.
“Lights off, journalists locked away, goons running rampant, is this Parliament or a backstreet brawl?” he asked furiously. “This kind of thing has no place here. It’s an unacceptable abuse of power.”
Ssenyonyi and the Opposition Caucus now demand that Speaker Anita Among explain who these “goons” were and why they were allowed in the House. Among also ordered Ssenyonyi’s previous remarks on the Coffee Bill be erased from records, a move he sees as silencing the opposition.
“This isn’t a playground for violence or censorship,” Ssenyonyi fired back, insisting that the Speaker will have to answer for last week’s chaos once Parliament is back in session. With emotions boiling over, this Coffee Bill fight isn’t cooling down anytime soon.
During the Debate, Ssenyonyi called on Speaker Anita Among to step aside from overseeing the contentious National Coffee Amendment Bill, citing comments she allegedly made the previous week that he believed signaled a potential bias.
According to Ssenyonyi, the Speaker’s remarks implied an intention to prevent Baganda legislators from rallying enough support for the Bill to advance to the second reading.
Ssenyonyi raised his concerns in Parliament, referencing an exchange Speaker Among had with Government Chief Whip Hamson Obua.
“What we saw on the national broadcaster were remarks indicating an interest in the Bill. Given your conduct, I believe there is a conflict of interest, and you should have declared it and recused yourself from this issue,” Ssenyonyi stated.
During the same debate the speaker was compelled to temporarily suspend plenary and some MPs after a physical fight ensued in the house.
Speaker Among suspended multiple Members of Parliament for three consecutive sittings after a scuffle broke out between Kilak North MP Anthony Akol and Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake, allegedly due to a dispute over seating arrangements.
During the heated session, Speaker Among had earlier invoked Rule 9, declaring a free seating arrangement due to the high attendance in the Chambers.
However, tensions escalated when Akol confronted Zaake for occupying a seat traditionally used by Akol. The confrontation quickly devolved into a physical altercation, prompting Speaker Among to suspend the session briefly and enforce disciplinary action.
Invoking Rule 88(2), Speaker Among ordered the immediate suspension of MPs involved in the disturbance, instructing the Sergeant at Arms to ensure they vacate the Chambers. Later when Parliament resumed, journalists were denied access to live coverage, prompting the journalist’s associations Uganda Parliamentary Association , to boycott parliament. It is also alleged that a section of MPs from the opposition were mugged out of the house like chicken thieves by plain clothed security operatives.
Parliament later passed the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill, 2024 merging the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) into the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).
Under the Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) policy the gov’t seeks to slash extravagant spending and clip duplication of roles.
