Museveni directs UPDF, Prisons to lead Karamoja relief food distribution
Akori revealed that the OPM had already signed a memorandum of understanding and that the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) and the Uganda Prisons Service are responsible for supplying the food.
President Yoweri Museveni (pictured) Last week, the government flagged off the distribution of emergency food relief to the Karamoja sub-region. (File photo)
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President Yoweri Museveni has directed the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to stop relying on its contracted suppliers for the delivery of relief items to communities affected by drought in Karamoja.
Instead, the President directed that relief distribution be handled by the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Uganda Prisons Service to ensure efficiency and accountability.
State Minister for Northern Uganda Beatrice Akori made the disclosure while speaking at the inauguration of the new president of the Lions Club of Rubirizi in Rubirizi district on July 17, 2026.
She revealed that the OPM had already signed a memorandum of understanding and that the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) and the Uganda Prisons Service are responsible for supplying the food.
She, however, noted that the OPM would continue to oversee the exercise.
She added: "We told them this food needs to go directly to sub-county headquarters to avoid delays and to avoid mishandling of this food item. I am optimistic that this food will reach the intended beneficiaries."
Last week, the government flagged off the distribution of emergency food relief to the Karamoja sub-region following a severe drought, with 552 tonnes of maize flour and 238 tonnes of beans earmarked for the intervention.
The distribution started with the hardest-hit districts of Kaabong, Kotido, Moroto, Karenga and Nabilatuk, using funding from the sh45 billion emergency fund authorised by President Museveni.
The minister pledged continued political and community mobilisation to promote development in Karamoja through the four-acre model so that communities can transform their livelihoods and escape poverty.
The Karamoja subregion is currently experiencing one of the longest dry spells in recent years, with the last significant rainfall received around the first week of May.
The region's dependence on seasonal crops meant that maize and other crops planted in early May dried up, resulting in widespread food shortages.
According to the OPM, approximately 600,000 vulnerable people are currently facing acute hunger and starvation in the region.
Lion Vincent B. Tumusiime was inaugurated as the second president of the Lions Club of Rubirizi, with more than 68 members enrolled.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, outgoing president Lion Kwesiga Rosbell Tumusiime outlined the club's achievements over the past year.
“We've been able to pay our dues on time; the discipline in the club is very good and more members, actually, even those I would say they call them from abroad, are willing to be part of us,” she said
She added that, “We have done a lot of service activities in the community; we have served under cancer, diabetes, environment; we have given food to the hungry, and we have treated the sick, so we have achieved a lot,” she added
Vincent B. Tumusiime, the newly inaugurated president of the club, pledged to offer service above self.
“So, our vision moving forward, as we step into this new Lionistic year, our core focus will be centred on expanding our outreach and, where possible, sponsor a Lions club in Katerera,” he said.
He added that, “I would also, in my Lionistic year, intend to establish a platform in Kampala where members of the club that reside in Kampala can always converge at least once a month and promote the agenda of our local club, which I'm going to call the Lions Club of Rubirizi Kampala chapter, " he added.
Tumusiime, who serves as director at the Directorate of Socio-Economic Monitoring and Research in the Office of the President, pledged to increase the visibility of the local club, strengthen its community footprint and promote the district governor's agenda, among other priorities.