Kampala, Uganda – Lawyers for Hon. Zaake, Lukwago & Co. Advocates, have now issued a formal notice to Hon. Akol, demanding an unequivocal apology on the floor of Parliament, monetary atonement for the damages and injuries sustained, and payment of 10% of the compensation as legal fees.
This comes after, a scuffle erupted in the Ugandan Parliament on November 6, 2024, during a heated debate on the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Hon. Francis Zaake, a member of the National Unity Platform (NUP), was allegedly punched by Hon. Anthony Akol, leaving him hospitalized.
During the plenary, Hon. Zaake had expressed concerns about the safety of members in the parliament, alleging that non-MPs had entered the House with guns.
Zaake’s Lawyer, Lukwago said in a letter addressed to Hon. Akol, “Your barbaric attack, perpetrated in the presence of other Members of Parliament, captured on official parliamentary footage. and circulated widely on national and international media, resulted in our client requiring medical attention and suffering both physical and emotional trauma. It also aggravated the trauma occasioned upon him by past incidents of torture.”
Hon. Zaake’s lawyers have in a letter, given Hon. Akol a seven-day ultimatum to comply with their demands. “Should you fail and /or refuse to comply with the foregoing demands, we have the strictest instructions to commence court proceedings against you without further reference to you, but at your own cost and assUred embarrassment.” Said Lukwago
“By this letter, therefore. we hereby give you formal notice of our client’s intention to institute legal proceedings against you in a competent court of law unless you make immediate amends to fully redress the pain, suffering. and indignity occasioned by your misconduct. To be specific. you should, within seven (7) days from the date of receipt of this notice” Lukwago added in the letter
Here are the demands of Zaake’s lawyers to Hon. Akol;
1. Issue to our Client an unequivocal apology on the floor of Parliament:
2. Make a monetary atonement to our Client adequate enough to ameliorate the damage and injury occassioned upon him by your violent actions above: and
3. Pay to Us 10% of the monetary atonement above being our legal fees.
Hon. Zaake has been at the center of controversy before. In September 2023, the Constitutional Court overturned a decision to remove him as a commissioner of Parliament, citing violations of natural justice and lack of quorum.
