In a statement that has ricocheted across Uganda and sparked a national controversy, the Ugandan State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Henry Oryem Okello, referred to those who have succumbed to hunger in his country as “idiots”. The minister’s remarks were aired on live television, where he suggested that the fertile land and favorable climate of Uganda should negate the possibility of starvation deaths.
“It’s only an idiot, a real idiot, that can die of hunger in Uganda,” Minister Oryem said. His comments were met with immediate backlash from various sectors of the Ugandan community, including legislators, human rights bodies, and journalists.
Moses Aleper, a legislator from the Karamoja region, rebutted the minister’s views, deeming them “not right” and “unfortunate coming from a minister who knows what goes on in this country.” “I’m from one of the most productive parts of Karamoja where there is adequate rain and we produce food. But in situations where weather fails us, the weather vagaries set in, we definitely fail to get food. And normally people definitely get famine and eventually hunger strikes,” he said.
A report from an official human rights organization stated that over 2,200 people died from starvation and related illnesses in north-east Uganda in 2022.The report by the Uganda Human Rights Commission, which was established by the constitution, stated that in addition to causing numerous deaths, the food shortage in the north-east left nearly half-a-million people in “acute hunger”.
Prominent Ugandan author and journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo critiqued the minister’s failure to recognize the systemic issues surrounding hunger in Uganda, such as distribution and market problems, which can prevent food from reaching those in need regardless of the country’s natural resources.
Meanwhile, the government’s approach to addressing the hunger crisis has come under scrutiny, with calls for sustainable solutions rather than temporary aid. This includes passing the National Food and Nutrition Bill, which aims to establish a right to food and tackle malnutrition.
As the debate rages on, the comments made by Minister Oryem have opened a larger conversation on the responsibilities of the government in addressing and mitigating hunger and poverty in a country rich with natural resources but still struggling with food insecurity for its most vulnerable citizens.
Relevant articles:
– Those dying of hunger are idiots – Uganda minister – BBC News
– Minister’s ‘only idiots die of hunger’ comment sparks outrage in Uganda, Daily Post Nigeria, Fri, 26 Jan 2024 05:51:22 GMT
– Uproar as minister Oryem says Ugandans dying of hunger are ‘idiots’, Kampala Dispatch, Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:25:55 GMT
– WATCH: Idiots! Ugandan Foreign Affairs minister Henry Okello insults compatriots dying of hunger, Nairobi News, Wed, 24 Jan 2024 13:19:02 GMT