KAMPALA, Uganda – Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, announced that it is goverment duty to protect coffee farmers from thieves. This is the main reason he considered deploying Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers in villages to protect them. The president announced his plan during his New Year’s address citing a report from the National Defense College, Njeru, that noticed an increase in premature coffee theft.
Statistics from UCDA show that Uganda’s coffee exports in 2023/2024 were 6.13 million bags, valued at $1.144 billion.
However, many coffee farmers express doubts about the initiative. For example, Fred Busuulwa, as reported in the Nile Post, said this might create for coffee farmers dependency on military protection.
Furthermore, he added, could be a ploy to secure additional funding for the military.
Security analyst Fred Egesa warned that Museveni’s proposal could lead to increased insecurity.
“Idle soldiers on farms may themselves become candidates for theft,” he cautioned as reported in the Nile Post.
