Akol would've seen my fighting skills if he was a security officer, says admitted MP Zaake
Mityana Municipality legislator Francis Zaake at a hospital in Kampala on November 6, 2024 after he suffered multiple blows from MP Anthony Akol. PHOTO/NMG
What you need to know:
- MP Zaake says he was in the gym on Tuesday in anticipation of wild scenes on Wednesday- similar to those that erupted in September 2017 as lawmakers deliberated on the Presidential Age Limit Bill.
Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament Francis Zaake has given reasons why he didn’t fight back as his Kilak counterpart Anthony Akol punched him several times to the ground on Wednesday in parliament before the House passed the controversial Coffee Bill, 2024.
Several videos circulated on the internet showed a non-combative Zaake as he received the punches, choosing to protect his head amid chaotic scenes.
Speaking to Monitor on Thursday at the Mother Kevin Wing of Nsambya Hospital where he was admitted following the brawl, Zaake of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party said he could not fight his fellow dissident, who subscribes to the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.
“My target was not Akol. He is my fellow opposition person. I was instead targeting to fight the security officials who had penetrated the House like they did during the age limit debate,” Zaake said.
Zaake says he was in the gym on Tuesday in anticipation of wild scenes on Wednesday- similar to those that erupted in September 2017 as lawmakers deliberated on the Presidential Age Limit Bill where non-uniformed officers stormed parliament chambers and viciously threw out lawmakers opposed to the legislation.
“I knew I was coming to tussle it out with enemies including the army, police, Special Forces Command (SFC)…because many times, they are not doing their mandate of protecting us but are rather against us. If Akol had been a security operative, he would have seen the skills Zaake has,” he said.
Zaake emphasized that “the story would have been different if he had mounted self-defence.”
“I am even regarded as a bad person in the House because of previous cases that have been piled on me and I knew that if I tried to do anything, I would have again been sent to the Rules Committee,” he explained.
Zaake has, in the current 11th Parliament, faced the House’s Committee of Rules, Privileges and Discipline three times over allegations of misconduct that eventually cost him a parliamentary commissioner position.
The legislator says he will seek legal justice for the incident in which he was repeatedly punched.
“There are civil and criminal cases arising from this incident including assault and inhuman treatment. The MP (Akol) will be taken to the courts of law,” Zaake’s lawyer Eron Kizza said.
Meanwhile, Zaake said he is improving and expects to be discharged soon.
“The doctors have managed the pain that I felt beneath my neck and ears where I was boxed. Otherwise, I’m becoming a drum…something to be beaten whenever there is a controversial subject in that House,” he lamented.
He added: “I believe those who torture me want me to get head problems because every time they beat me, they target the head. Probably they want me mad.”
By press time, Akol was yet to respond to media inquiries about the incident.
Mr Zaake was among the lawmakers injured during the 2017 presidential Age Limit Bill deliberations. Video footage appeared to show Works minister Gen Katumba Wamala thumping him during the fracas. He was also hospitalised in the aftermath of the incident.
