Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye, the Former Executive Director of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), succumbed to Cancer, Tuesday morning, our sources have revealed.
“He has been battling Cancer for some years now, until November, 18, 2025, when he lost the fight,” said a close family friend.
Dr.Iyamulemye’s death was later on confirmed by Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister of Agriculture, who announced the death on his official X account.
“He was one of the most influential figures in the transformation of Uganda’s coffee sector. We shall miss him,” he said on Tuesday morning.
Widely recognised as a central architect of Uganda’s Coffee Roadmap, the strategic plan that significantly increased national coffee production and boosted the country’s global competitiveness, Dr. Iyamulemye’s commitment elevated Uganda’s profile in international coffee bodies.
During his tenure at UCDA, Uganda recorded substantial growth in coffee exports and strengthened its standing among the world’s leading coffee origins.
He is also credited with championing the enhancement of coffee quality standards, expanding extension services to farmers, and pushed for international recognition of African coffee varieties.
Dr. Iyamulemye was particularly known for defending Uganda’s Robusta coffee and advocating for fair classification of African coffees alongside Ethiopia on global platforms.
He also fought tooth and nail to stop UCDA from being scrapped under the government’s agency rationalisation programme.
The move led to the swallowing of the Authority back into the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).
The merger, government argued, was meant to cut down wasteful expenditure and reduce the financial burden on the state.
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