Zaake-gate: Was Fight in Parliament Staged to Roast Coffee Resistance?

According to Buhweju County MP Francis Mwijukye, the incident appeared timed to deflect attention and allow the government to pass the Bill without much opposition.

NATIONAL | The Zaake-Akol ignominy in Parliament on Wednesday, November 6, could have been scripted and executed to perfection.

Analysis of the video recording of the incident in which Kilak County MP Anthony Akol rained blows on his Mityana Municipality opposition counterpart Francis Zaake, a review of events preceding it, and interviews with various sources point to a staged chaos, with a plot written in the ends-and-means philosophy.

While it is difficult to draw a damning conclusion in such incidents without irrefutable evidence, suggestions of a staged fight sound more believable than the chances of the Eleventh Parliament being honest.

MP Akol rained punches on Zaake following a minor altercation over a seat in the chamber, leading to a chaotic scene that ended with a piecemeal end to what had been billed as a titanic clash similar to the Age Limit debate battle in the same chamber in 2017.

The chaos that followed saw plainclothes security forces, believed to be members of the elite Special Forces Command (SFC), storm the chambers. Lights were switched off on the orders of the Sergeant at Arms, and journalists were locked in a basement conference hall.

A dark place is where evil thrives, and the security forces proceeded to yank off targeted legislators from their seats and throw them out.

When the House resumed later, President Museveni had his wish. One more "parasitic agency" was smothered, and the "criminals" had been "crushed" and defeated.

But what really happened?

President Museveni has never lost to legislators, and the last time he came close to an ego-bruising defeat, it was Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and the Shs10bn Covid-19 relief scandal.

Parliament had doled out Shs10bn that the MPs shared against the President's will. The Son of Kaguta has a patented right to give out such monies, and yet Ms. Kadaga had taken this upon herself.

Mr. Museveni ordered the MPs to refund the Shs20 million each had received. Ms. Kadaga ordered them to keep it and even to never speak to the President without her express authorization.

The battle of egos in 2020 spelled doom for Rebecca Kadaga's career at the helm of the August House.

Yet here was the National Coffee Amendment Bill, 2024, drawing in a lot of emotions from peasants and elites alike.

Mr. Museveni and his government had determined that the Uganda Coffee Development Authority had to go under the wings of the agriculture ministry, to the chagrin of farmers and other coffee stakeholders.

President Museveni was very deliberate in all his missives in the run-up to the decisive debate: the Bill had to pass.

After meetings with NRM MPs at the government ranch, now turned personal farm in Kisozi, Gomba District, Mr. Museveni would meet Buganda Caucus legislators from his party to sell them his plans for the coffee sector beyond UCDA.

Row over seats

Long before MP Zaake had stood up to protest the presence of an armed security detail in the chamber, SFC soldiers had arrived at Parliament and were briefed by the Sergeant at Arms.

Security was tight, and if Zaake innocently walked into the plot by provoking Akol into the embarrassing fight, one could say he was provoked into it.

There were dozens of calls from the top Executive to individual MPs on the eve of the debate. The MPs were being asked to kowtow to the government's coffee beans.

Sources also say some legislators had been warned to stay away to avoid the altercation that had been planned.

It is not clear if Akol had become the Judas in the scheme, but with his past incident of punching another fellow legislator preceding his reputation, his actions left many feeling betrayed.

The row of seats closest to the Speaker was the center and scene of the crime for both the fist fights and the arrest. But the constant standing of MP Anthony Akol behind Zaake while the House proceeded before he could raise the alarm over a suspected gun in the chambers has come into question.

At 10 a.m., Speaker Anita Among entered the chambers. The bench on the left side of the Speaker was only occupied by MP Zaake. He was later joined by Jonathan Odur, Kayemba Solo, and Linos Ngopek of NRM.

MP David Kabanda would also join the bench.

Zaake raised an alarm over a gun, which prompted him to seek the attention of the Speaker, but his microphone was off.

Akol had been standing behind Zaake close to the Sergeant at Arms. This row is often occupied by individuals including MP Zaake, Akol, and Asuman Basalirwa.

After remonstrating over the alleged gun, Zaake went to take his seat, only to find Akol sprawled on it. The man from Mityana, who was punched into submission by General Katumba Wamala in 2017, nudged Akol aside, but the Kilak man refused to move.

Zaake then forcefully pushed Akol off the seat, and the latter reacted by swinging his fist.

A staged incident

MP Francis Mwijukye of Buhweju County suggested that the fight was a strategic move to destabilize the opposition during a sensitive debate.

According to Mwijukye, the incident appeared timed to deflect attention and allow the government to pass the Bill without much opposition.

"The incident served to weaken opposition members by sowing confusion,” he told the Nile Post.

Ironically, less than 24 hours earlier, members of the opposition had met and stamped their feet, vowing not to cede to the government on the contentious coffee issue.

Yet here was Akol, an FDC legislator, and Zaake, engaged in a fight to hand the coffee mug to the government to gulp.

Mr. Mwijukye alleged that Akol might have acted under influence to disrupt opposition efforts.

Mwijukye’s views echo those of former Leader of the Opposition Betty Aol, who expressed concerns over the incident being potentially scripted.

Aol questioned the unusual behavior of Akol, which she described as “abnormal and disruptive."

“When you are a member of parliament, that is not how you should conduct business. Christians say we should humble ourselves,” she said.

Medard Sseggona, MP for Busiro East, also voiced his disapproval of the physical altercation, emphasizing that parliamentary debates should remain cerebral, not physical.

“Zaake was provoked, and in Parliament, we fight with our brains and lips,” Sseggona said.

He further suggested that the incident was uncharacteristic of Zaake, whom he described as “known for being a victim rather than an aggressor.”

His remarks have fueled the narrative that Zaake was possibly provoked, casting suspicion on the motivations behind Akol’s actions.

The alleged presence of armed individuals in the chamber, which Zaake referenced in his remarks, has also raised eyebrows, with the Speaker clarifying that Zaake’s claims were inaccurate, stating that the individual in question was her bodyguard, who underwent a thorough security check.

The bill, which transfers the UCDA’s functions to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, was passed amid protests from opposition MPs and a media lockout, with 305 MPs reportedly in attendance during the decision.