The Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP), Joel Ssenyonyi, has vowed to continue the fight against the controversial Coffee Amendment Bill, despite its passing by Parliament.
Ssenyonyi made these remarks on Thursday, November 7, 2024, during the countrywide tour in Kamuli.
According to Ssenyonyi, the events that transpired in the House on November 6, 2024, were an illegality, and the government has an intention to frustrate Ugandans by devaluing coffee similar to cotton, tea, and sugarcane, which has seen farmers languish in poverty.
“The government doesn’t want Ugandans to be well off. So as far as I’m concerned, this war is not over with the people of Uganda. Our colleagues have been beaten; others have been incarcerated; we don’t know where they are. The media was locked up in one of the rooms at parliament. So we are not going to let them go with our coffee issue,“ Ssenyonyi said.
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He added that the scenario was a complete illegality, which showed parliament’s mischievous plans contrary to their mandate.
He condemned the manner in which the media was handled during the debate, rallying the media to actualize and uphold the boycott in Parliament and demand respect for their rights.
“The media will stand firm and take action because they have issued a ban on covering parliament. I hope they will actualize it so they get to fight for their rights as media,” Ssenyonyi noted.
During the parliamentary session on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, tempers flared when MPs Francis Zaake and Anthony Akol clashed over procedural issues, leading to a physical altercation and a brief suspension of the House for some minutes.
