📷 Muntu says to end Karimojong hunger, share mineral proceeds with residents
Muntu also vowed to share mineral proceeds with the Karimojong community, emphasising that the region’s untapped resources, including gold, copper, and limestone, must benefit locals directly.
Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential flag-bearer Maj. Gen. (rtd) Mugisha Muntu speaking to the people of Soweto Ghetto, located in Moroto Municipality in Moroto district. (Photos by Stuart Yiga)
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Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential flag-bearer Maj. Gen. (rtd) Mugisha Muntu says once voted into power, he will declare a war on hunger and destitution in Karamoja.
He has pledged to transform the region from a perpetual relief corridor into a thriving agro‑pastoral hub within his first term.
Addressing a campaign crowd at Soweto Abattoir Market in Moroto municipality on November 17, 2025, Muntu outlined a five‑pillar roadmap aimed at eradicating food insecurity and cutting poverty by 2030.
“Karamoja has green belts, abundant sunlight and a resilient people. It is time we turn this potential into prosperity,” he said.
Muntu who pointed to the 2022 hunger crisis, where several deaths were recorded, as a stark reminder of the urgency.
“We cannot keep watching our children die of hunger while the land lies fallow,” he warned.
Muntu pledged to provide affordable credit and tractor hire services to boost mechanised farming of staple cereals, oilseeds, and legumes.
Sharing mineral wealth
Muntu also vowed to share mineral proceeds with the Karimojong community, emphasising that the region’s untapped resources, including gold, copper, and limestone, must benefit locals directly.
“We will allocate a percentage of royalties to community development funds, focusing on health, education, and infrastructure,” he said.
Muntu vowed to mainstream climate‑smart techniques such as water harvesting, soil conservation, and rangeland governance. He urged the revival of the co-operative bank to provide affordable loans to smallholder farmers.
Muntu’s pledge to end food insecurity and share mineral wealth in Karamoja resonates with a region weary of aid and yearning for sustainable development.
He promised to fast‑track these initiatives, promising to increase budget allocations for agriculture, improve extension services, and strengthen market linkages.
“There is no way in a region like Karamoja, which is rich in fertile soils and mineral wealth like your land, to find anybody suffering from hunger and poverty. You have minerals, but it is going to be a danger to you because most government leaders who come here do not want to see you but your minerals,” Muntu said.
Muntu vowed to mainstream climate‑smart techniques such as water harvesting, irrigation, soil conservation and rangeland governance.
He urged the revival of the co-operative bank to provide affordable loans to smallholder farmers. Forget about begging, you have to be bold and vote for the honest leaders.
Muntu, who struggled to control the rowdy Karamojong who were waiting for campaign money after his speech, was made to answer what the crowd never wanted to hear.
“You know I am an honest man who gives what he has. I do not have money to give you now, but I will lift you out of poverty once voted in power,” he started.
“Vote me the way I am. What drives those in government is greed for wealth, personal wealth, and I am here to work for all Ugandans. That is who I am, that’s who I am…” Muntu elaborated.
What we seek from you is to be bold, fearless, and to make the right choices when voting because if you are not careful, you will wake up one day and find when you are dispossessed of your land until you get an honest government, he warned.
The NRM government has been criticised for neglecting the region, with many residents allegedly feeling marginalised and excluded from national development plans.
