A government minister in Uganda is facing backlash for labeling those who died of hunger in his country as “idiots.”
Henry Okello Oryem’s comments, widely criticized as insensitive, come in the wake of a report from an official human rights body revealing that over 2,200 people succumbed to starvation and related illnesses in northeast Uganda in 2022.
Oryem’s argument contends that, given the favorable climate and fertile land, people should be able to cultivate their own food.
“It’s only an idiot, a real idiot, that can die of hunger in Uganda,” the state minister for foreign affairs told the NTV Uganda television channel.
However, the severe food shortage in the northeast also left nearly half a million people in a state of “acute hunger,” according to the report by the Uganda Human Rights Commission, established by the constitution.
Criticism has erupted over the minister’s remarks.
Moses Aleper, a legislator representing Chekwii county in the affected Karamoja region, expressed his disagreement with Oryem’s views, calling them “not right” and “unfortunate” coming from a minister familiar with the country’s challenges.
Aleper, from one of Karamoja’s productive areas, explained that adverse weather conditions beyond human control, like climate change, contribute to situations where food production fails, leading to famine and subsequent hunger.
Charles Onyango-Obbo, a prominent Ugandan author and journalist, also criticized Oryem, emphasizing that the minister fails to comprehend that hunger in Uganda is more of a distribution and market problem.
Official data on the current food situation in Karamoja is unavailable, but the region typically faces hunger during dry seasons due to its semi-arid climatic conditions. Oryem’s comments have sparked a broader conversation about the multifaceted challenges contributing to food insecurity in the country.
