Zaake needs mental check-up, says MP Akol

Akol, also the chairperson of the Acholi Parliamentary Caucus, turned from smiling legislator to snarling adversary after Hon. Zaake tried to shove him off his seat.

Zaake turned rowdy when a member of the Speaker's security team accessed the Plenary with a firearm, contrary to the House rules. But Akol was having none of this and proceeded to punch Zaake’s proverbial lights out.

“Honourable Zaake was throwing punches in the air as if he intended to attack anyone in his way," Akol said.

"This isn’t the first time he’s acted like this, and it may be time for a mental medical checkup to ensure his well-being.”

This showdown happened during a fevered debate on the National Coffee Amendment Bill, 2024, which seeks the merger of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) with the agriculture ministry. And has left the august House with the atmosphere of a bar on the verge of a brawl.

"I don’t quarrel with people, but when attacked, I respond. Don’t push me — it's like challenging an elephant," Akol said, warning Zaake that more of his pugilistic skills shall be visited upon him if he continues to indulge himself in battles he "cannot win."

MP Francis Zaake in Hospital pulse uganda

A History of Violence

This is not the first time Akol has erupted into a volcanic rage in the august House, In 2020, he delivered punches in bunches to then Aruu County MP Odonga Otto.

Like Mityana Municipality's Zaake on Wednesday, Odonga Otto wound up on a stretcher on an express route to the hospital. It is also not the first time Zaake’s face has been introduced to a violent legislator’s fists.

In 2017, during a heated Age Limit Amendment debate, Works and Transport minister Gen. Katumba Wamala punched the Mityana MP so hard that his ancestors reportedly screamed Ouch!