Kuvumbi is the chairperson of the Buganda Parliamentary Caucus which has been at the forefront of opposing the Museveni-backed National Coffee Amendment Bill (2024) that seeks among others to abolish the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).
Butambala Member of Parliament Muwanga Kivumbi recounted an intense exchange he had with President Yoweri Museveni on a phone call last week.
MP Muwanga Kivumbi
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Speaker's hands tied
The phone call to State House was initiated by Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among on Thursday last week, during an impromptu meeting with the Buganda MPs following an earlier stand-off on the House floor.
The speaker had called the Buganda caucus meeting to find a middle ground and avert another chaotic scene in the plenary.
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During the meeting, Kivumbi says, he laid out all the MPs’ concerns and why they think the new law is being brought in bad faith by the government.
The speaker, according to him, appeared to understand their concerns but she explained to them how her hands are tied because she is an NRM member and the bill is being pushed by the President himself.
In the end, the speaker picked up her mobile phone and called the president who asked to speak to the caucus chairman.
President Yoweri Museveni on phone
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Museveni charges at Kivumbi
In the first three minutes of the call, the Butambala MP says, President Museveni went on the offensive, using pointed words to express his disappointment with the Buganda caucus.
“He called me a terrorist,” revealed the opposition NUP legislator.
“He didn’t even greet me; he just went off right away, saying ‘You terrorist, why are you like this all the time…why are you always spreading hatred among the people?.’”
"I was standing in the corner and my colleagues could see my body language, although they couldn't hear what the president was saying."
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“He went on like that for about three minutes until I interrupted him and said “Your Excellence, Salaam Alaikum.’”
On the call, the MP says he explained to Museveni why they think the amendment bill is dangerous and why scrapping UCDA will spell doom for the farmers.
In the end, the president appreciated some of the concern but he insisted that he wanted the law passed.
He delegated the Minister of State for Agriculture Bright Rwamirama to engage further with the Buganda MPs to see what other adjustments can be made in the bill.
