Hungry voters turn presidential candidate Muntu rally into cash‑demand show

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Every election cycle, politicians grapple with the calculus of voter bribery: To stuff envelopes with cash, hand out smartphones, or promise phantom favours, to win votes, or to stake their fate on the risky proposition that voters might actually choose leaders based on ideas, integrity, or a vision for the nation. The answer, too often, is clear.

In the run-up to the 2026 General Election campaigns, which included party primaries, transactional politics reared its ugly head. It is likely to continue when the season gains momentum after the nomination of all politicians.

👉 To bribe or not to bribe Ugandan voters? That is the question

As fate would have it, reality struck as the sun was already blazing over Down Town village, Matany town council, Napak district in Karamoja region, when Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential flag-bearer Maj. Gen. (rtd) Mugisha Muntu started waving to the chanting voters.

Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential flag-bearer Maj. Gen. (rtd) Mugisha Muntu addressing voters Down Town village, Matany town council, Napak district in Karamoja region. (Credit: Stuart Yiga)

Starting with his new hope campaign message ‘End Hunger, End Poverty in Karamoja, Muntu was within a few minutes shocked when the crowd’s chants shifted from applause to a chorus of demands, “Give us money!” “We need food!”

The scene, which unfolded with many youth, women and children, drunk and sober, openly cursing in local languages, started to ask for a microphone to ask for cash, turning a peaceful and jolly political engagement into a transactional affair.

“I am not going to ask a vote from you here because if I do, you are going to take it as politics. I will come back for any social gathering with you after the elections if called upon, but for me to give you a shilling now, no. I can’t do that. You leave your votes,” he said.

(Credit: Stuart Yiga)

Muntu, who laboured to explain how the commercialisation of politics has crippled government capacity to offer service delivery to citizens, warned voters that they risk voting for greedy politicians who have kept exploiting and oppressing them for years in power.

“In my life, I tell people the truth because I do not tell people lies to please them,” he said, shocking voters who were yelling for food. Karimojong are in deep crisis because you have kept living a pastoral life without any physical development on land, and you risk being dispossessed of it if you continue begging for money from leaders without discussing internally about the issues that affect you".

“What I’m sure of is that when Gen. Museveni comes here, they will give you enough food, alcohol and money, but that will never solve your problem at hand, and they will destroy you,” tough-talking Muntu said.

Karamoja needs honest, not greedy, leaders to develop.

Muntu insisted that if they voted for him on January 15, 2026, he would fight poverty because he is an honest leader who is tried and tested at different levels in government.

Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential flag-bearer Maj. Gen. (rtd)  Mugisha  Muntu addressing voters in Karamoja. (Credit: Stuart Yiga)

“If you don’t become bold enough to vote for honest leaders, your children and grandchildren will end up living in reservation camps, and that will be the end of you,” Muntu emphasised.

Muntu’s speech focused on commercial agriculture, industrialisation and infrastructure development in the area.

Nichoras Lopeyok, 38, a father of five, shouted, “We have listened to promises for years. Right now, our children are sleeping hungry. If you want our vote, give us something today.”

The culture of handouts

Political analyst Charles Rwomushana attributed this behaviour to a deeply entrenched handout culture that has evolved over successive election cycles.

Rwomushana noted that the exchange of money between candidates and voters has become “an accepted norm” among many Ugandans, driven partly by poverty and partly by incumbents who use cash to maintain power.

“Staying in power for long intrigues candidates to offer voters money and buy them off to keep voting for them,” Rwomusha explains, warning that this practice distorts voter choices and undermines democratic accountability.

👉 Why Ugandan politicians walk scot-free after bribing voters

The phenomenon, he adds, has turned politics into a transactional marketplace, where manifestos lose meaning and citizens prioritise immediate financial relief over long‑term policy benefits.

Samuel Okello, a resident, defended the voters, highlighting the desperation that fuels the demand.

“Over 70 % of voters rely on informal money lenders who charge up to 20 % interest per week. When a presidential candidate appears, they see a lifeline. It’s not greed much as it is seen as the means of survival.”

Muntu, visibly taken aback, paused his speech and addressed the crowd: “I understand your pain. Hunger is not a political issue; it is a human issue.

However, Muntu's message and analogy were in vain, like in the Biblical Parable of the Sower whose seeds fell on the rocks.

“My government will create jobs, boost agriculture, and ensure that every household has enough to eat. But I cannot give you money now because it will not solve tomorrow’s hunger.”

He urged the crowd to focus on policy promises and long‑term solutions rather than short‑term handouts.