The former Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), Emmanuel Iyamulemye, is dead. The agriculturalist died this morning after a long illness.
His death was confirmed by Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister for Agriculture.
“I have learnt this morning with deep sorrow the passing of Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye, the former ED of UCDA. Dr. Iyamulemye passed away this morning, 18th November 2025,” Tumwebaze said.
He said Dr. Iyamulemye was a pillar of Uganda’s coffee sector and played a key leadership role in the design and implementation of Uganda’s coffee road map, which contributed to the country’s exponential coffee growth.
Under his leadership, Uganda strengthened its coffee quality standards, expanded farmer extension support systems, and positioned itself as one of the world’s most competitive coffee origins.
He fought firmly in international coffee bodies and fora, demanding the correct classification of African coffees, Uganda’s Robusta and Ethiopia’s Arabica.
“He was a bold, firm, and intelligent officer. Together with other colleagues, he worked hard in opening up Uganda’s new coffee markets, including China,” he said.
Iyamulemye was first appointed as CEO of UCDA in 2016. In 2021, the UCDA Board renewed his contract for another five years, based on the positive outcome of his first term.
The deceased held an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Science, and a Master’s degree in Crop Science awarded by Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
He went on to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Agricultural Science from the same university. His Master of Business Administration degree was awarded by Uganda Martyrs University.
For a period of two years after graduate school, he was the Programme Director of a programme promoting NERICA rice in Uganda, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization.
He then spent several years as the National Programme Coordinator for two development programmes jointly founded by the European Union and the Government of Uganda to uplift living conditions in the Northern Region of Uganda.
The Northern Uganda Agricultural Livelihoods Recovery Program (ALREP), worth €20 million, and the Karamoja Livelihoods Program (KALIP), worth €15 million, ran between 2010 and 2016.
