The State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Henry Oryem Okello, has said that Ugandans dying of hunger are idiots. The minister, who was speaking in an exclusive interview with reporters about Uganda’s climate being favorable for farmers to till their land and plant enough seeds for food.
This comes days after President Museveni told the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) delegates that disturbing photos of Ugandans starved to near death due to feminine, especially in the country’s north-eastern restive Karamoja sub-region is not a representative of the situation on the African continent
The remarks from both Mr Oryem and Mr Museveni who has been in power since 1986 when he shot his way to State House through a guerilla warfare come just months after Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) said in their May 2023 report that at least 2,000 people had died of hunger in the mineral-rich Karamoja sub-region in just a year.
Statistics of Hunger Deaths in Uganda
At 1676 deaths, Kotido district registered the highest number of starvation and hunger related deaths, followed by Kaabong at 225 deaths, 166 deaths were registered in Moroto while Napak hunger death toll stood at 135 deaths in 2022. Only eight deaths were recorded in Karenga district.
According to the UHRC damning report, the hunger in the region was as a result of long dry spells that led to acute famine, killing at least 2,207 people.
Other causes of famine in the region highlighted by the commission are, insecurity and intensified livestock raids, low crop yields, destruction of crops by wild animals, poverty and alcoholism. The acute famine that hit the region also left hundreds of children malnourished with over 300 cases registered in Kotido District.
