From Economic War To Coffee Diplomacy: Joel’s Support For Gov’t-Backed Ntungamo Park Raises Eyebrows

Ugandans are outraged over Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi’s recent visit to Inspire Africa Coffee Park in Ntungamo District.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Ssenyonyi, a renowned blabbering speaker vehemently opposed the government’s plans for the coffee sector, claiming it would unfairly disadvantage the Central region which contributes the highest percentage of coffee Uganda puts on both local and international markets.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a standstill between Parliament, and President Museveni, the leader of the executive when a debate on the rationalization of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA). Despite several explanations by the Government that merging the former regulator of the coffee sector with the mother Ministry of Agriculture would not jeopardize the coffee sector, but aim at cutting public expenditure, the Ssennyonyi-led opposition insisted, “Museveni was in a ploy to monopolize the sector.”

Among a litany of justifications for their ‘considered’ reasoning against the Government’s UCDA rationalization at the time, was that the Museveni-led NRM Government had already coined a scheme to support one of their blue-eyed people to put up a multi-million dollar modern coffee processing company in Western Uganda far away from most coffee-producing central region (Buganda.”

In that Company, the opposition meant Inspire Coffee Africa, whose proprietor, Nelson Tugume, is a well-known supporter of ruling NRM, and PLU, a political platform led by the first-son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, also the Chief of Defence Forces of UPDF.

It is public knowledge that when the eventual debate on the controversial rationalization of UCDA, the opposition leader in parliament Joel did not allow his colleagues to debate it on the floor.

Instead of waiting for item number 3 on the order paper, which was the Coffee Amendment Bill, 2024, Joel chose to jump the gun to stage-manage a verbal attack on the speaker of parliament, supposedly blocking her from presiding over a coffee debate yet they were still on item number 2 on the order paper.

The speaker had guided that Ssenyonyi ought to halt his concerns until when they could reach the coffee debate, but they could not listen. To effectively execute their rehearsed scheme, Joel was reinforced by his blabbering Mityana Municipality counterpart Francis Zaake to cause serious drama that led to Joel’s commanding opposition out of what he described as an uncomfortable environment for opposition to legislate on the coffee sector, despite spending weeks of the so-called preparations to save the coffee sector.

Speaking to the media in the aftermath of an ex-party passage of the Coffee Amendment Act, 2024 that merged UCDA with MAIF, Ssenyonyi applied the usual grandstanding political style as learned from his boss Bobi Wine, the archbishop of both populism and blackmail politics.

The Nakawa West MP declared an “economic war” against the government’s alleged monopolization of the coffee sector and announced that he would take it to all Uganda’s districts to demonstrate to the Museveni regime that the coffee issue was not yet over.

Change Of Hearts

However, during his visit to Inspire Africa Coffee Park on December 11, 2024, Joel’s tone was surprisingly conciliatory.

Nelson Tugume, the park’s owner, and his affiliates, despite being staunch enablers of the Museveni regime, warmly welcomed him. Joel even planted a coffee tree as a memorial for his visit and accepted gifts from his hosts.

In doing this, Joel will ever be remembered as the watchdog who accepted to be corrupted by the persons he had gone to check over the alleged misuse of colossal sums of taxpayers’ money even before executing the intended purpose of the visit.

While touring the park, Joel praised Tugume’s efforts, saying, “We have moved around the coffee park, and we have seen the ongoing work. I asked about timelines, and he (Tugume) said by around March 2025, you will be good to go. I hope so.”

He also appreciated Tugume’s commitment to building a sustainable company, saying, “This coffee is here to stay for ages regardless of what happens. Coffee outlives governments, regimes, and human beings. I am hoping Tugume, you are growing this company to outlive you.”

Joel’s sudden change of heart has raised eyebrows among Ugandans, at least those who commented on his X account post following the eyebrows’ raiser visit. Many have taken to social media to express their disappointment and outrage.

“This is not the Joel I expected. Too much Lugezigezi. Walidde Sebo” said God’s Plan.

Anthony Nuwamanya asked, “So the question of why Ntungamo of all the places is no more?”

Political Cover-Up to the Mess

Joel’s visit to the coffee park was seen as a political cover-up to sanitize the unclear investment of taxpayers’ money into a private company.

Robert Kabushenga, a prominent coffee farmer who had some time back, questioned the viability of Tugume’s project, alleging that he had purchased cheap equipment and pocketed the difference.

“The controversial (and well-informed) wisdom in the Ugandan Coffee circles in the two individuals who are purporting to set up ready-to-drink coffee processing units in Ntungamo and Namanve have simply purchased cheap equipment and pocketed the difference,” Kabushenga said in raising a red flag into a $36m project at the time.

“So what will pass for verification whether we are getting value for money is a preparatory visit to Ntungamo by ICT Minister Baryomunsi and Musenereo to inspect ongoing works…The real purpose for this is to lend a political cover to this scam and hope to legitimize $36m heist in the eyes of the public as an investment in our prosperity.” Kabushenga added

Museveni leads the Project’s Advocates

President Museveni has been a strong advocate for the coffee park project and pledged his full support during a visit to the same site in his home district Ntungamo that Joel praised, and approved.

He cautioned those threatening the project, saying, “Tugume was telling me what is required to complete it, and I am going to support him.”

Although the government heavily invested in this coffee value chain through the Coffee Investment Consortium Uganda (CICU), it could not last before disagreements erupted between consortium members and Tugume, with several members quitting the consortium over allegations of mismanagement of funds.

It was widely reported that as soon as this coffee consortium received the funds, Tugume whom Joel was overheard informing colleagues that “this [Tugume] is my colleague” on their arrival to the park’s premises, the controversial and indefinable businessman took a staggering Shs21bn out of Shs 31bn received from the government for the promotion of coffee exports.

Ultimately, several members of the consortium such as Jackie Arinda of Jada Coffee, Kwezi Kutesa of Kwezi Coffee, and Gerald Katabazi of Volcano Coffee quit the consortium, with Arinda accusing Nelson Tugume of failing to account for the funds.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Joel’s praising visit to the park yet he always refers to himself as an accountable leader, has sparked controversy, with many questioning his sudden change of heart.

As one social media user put it, “Seems you [Joel] were impressed. No negative comment.” Frederick Dongo asked, “So which Government are you asking? Have started living in Kenya!?”

Vague on the exact finding regards the taxpayers’ money, some Ugandans asked Joel whom equally parliamentary corridors and media-talk-show MPs led by Nakaseke South’s motor-mouthed Luttamaguzi Ssemakula to tell his findings accompanied.

“Was there something tangible to show in context with the 75bn? Tell us what you saw on the ground….” Moses Asiimwe asked.

Joel’s actions have been seen as a betrayal of his earlier stance against the government’s coffee sector plans. As Opito Godfrey put it, “Enjoy your per diem just but no impact on this visit.”

The controversy surrounding Joel’s praising visit to the coffee park is a clear indication that Ugandans are not buying his sudden change of heart. As Barbara Namukasa said, “Who paid for all the team that drove to Ntungamo I guess it’s the…! Yeah, you got it right.”

If Ugandans’ sentiments on Joel’s sudden change of heart are anything to go by, it means serious questions are lingering about LoP’s integrity and commitment to his earlier stance against the government’s coffee sector plans.