KAMPALA — President Yoweri Museveni has directed the State House Comptroller to ensure that coffee seedling suppliers in Masaka are fully paid, bringing government intervention to a dispute over unpaid supplies linked to the 2025 coffee distribution programme.
The directive follows public allegations by one of the suppliers, Cissy Nanyange, who claimed that Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament and State Minister for Local Government, Justine Nameere Nsubuga, owed her UGX 150 million for coffee seedlings supplied during the 2025 general election period.
However, both Nameere and Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara have denied the allegations, saying the contract was not awarded to the minister but to Masaka NRM Chairman Rogers Bulegeya.
In a statement issued Tuesday night, Barugahara said President Museveni had resolved the matter by directing State House Comptroller Jane Barekye to oversee full payment of the suppliers.
“The issue raised by the coffee seedling suppliers in Masaka has been resolved. His Excellency the President, through the State House Comptroller Jane Barekye, will ensure that the suppliers are paid fully tomorrow morning,” Barugahara said.
He added that preliminary findings indicated the dispute had been worsened by political differences and the financial pressures facing the seedling suppliers.
“The contract to supply the coffee seedlings was awarded to Chairman Bulegeya of Masaka. Hon. Justine Nameere only witnessed the arrangement and was not a contracting party to the suppliers, contrary to the allegations made by the lady yesterday,” Barugahara stated.
In a detailed statement released shortly afterwards, Nameere said she had petitioned President Museveni to support residents of Masaka City with coffee seedlings and that the President approved the request.
She explained that Rogers Bulegeya later sought and obtained the contract after informing the President that he had sufficient coffee seedlings to supply the programme.
According to Nameere, Bulegeya subsequently failed to deliver the agreed quantities because he did not possess enough seedlings and instead sourced them from 14 local farmers.
She said she rejected what she described as an “air supply” proposal and later informed the President about the challenges, prompting Museveni to authorize her to complete the distribution to beneficiaries.
Nameere further said she advised the State House Comptroller that payment to Bulegeya should only be processed in the presence of all the farmers who supplied the seedlings so that each could be paid directly.
She maintained that the UGX 150 million cited publicly represented the combined amount allegedly owed to all 14 farmers by Bulegeya rather than a debt owed by herself.
“The facts are clear: The UGX 150 million is the total amount owed to all 14 farmers by Mr. Bulegeya,” Nameere said, adding that the arrangement had been confirmed during a meeting attended by the affected suppliers and government officials.
The minister also accused unnamed political actors of orchestrating a smear campaign against her after she opposed what she described as interference in a separate case involving suspected theft of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds.
She insisted she had never supplied government directly and pledged to continue fighting corruption.
“I do not deal! I do not steal! To avoid any conflict of interest, I do not supply government. I will continue to fight corruption without fear or favor. Ugandans deserve the truth, not orchestrated falsehoods,” Nameere said.
President Museveni’s directive is expected to bring the dispute to a close as government moves to compensate the affected suppliers while clarifying responsibility for the original procurement arrangement.
The development comes as government continues promoting coffee production as a key pillar of Uganda’s agricultural transformation and household income strategy.
