PM Nabbanja Hails NEC-MD Mugira As Karamoja Relief Food Is Flagged-Off To Hunger-Hit Communities.

KAMPALA, July 20, 2026 — The Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, Prime Minister of Uganda, today flagged off over 9.4 million kilograms of relief food bound for Karamoja sub-region, commending the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) and its Managing Director, Lt. Gen. James Mugira, for their swift and costeffective response to the region’s worsening hunger crisis.

The consignment comprised of 9,419,610 kilograms of dry beans and maize flour targeting an estimated 3,890 households and forms part of a decisive Government intervention directed by H.E. the President. The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) is coordinating the exercise in partnership with NEC and the Uganda Prisons Services. 

Speaking at the flagging-off ceremony held at NEC Headquarters in Bugolobi, the Prime Minister praised NEC’s practical and timely response, noting that the Corporation’s rates undercut private suppliers significantly: NEC supplied beans at Shs 4,000 and posho at Shs 2,800 per kilogram, compared to quotes of Shs 4,500 and Shs 3,320 respectively from private suppliers approached earlier by OPM. She added that working with NEC also eliminated the bureaucratic delays typically associated with government procurement procedures.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the relief food must reach its intended beneficiaries, warning of zero tolerance for corruption and calling on leaders at all levels in Karamoja to actively support the distribution process. She attributed the crisis to a prolonged drought that has destroyed household crops and ruined livestock, the sub-region’s economic mainstay thus leaving thousands of families without food or income. 

The Hon. Sam Engola, Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees in the OPM, thanked the UPDF for its intervention and commended H.E. the President for the swift response, as well as the coordinated efforts of Government ministers, the UPDF, and political leaders. He called for long-term investment in irrigation infrastructure and the construction of grain storage silos to safeguard against future droughts.

The Hon. Esther Davina Anyakun, Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, thanked the Prime Minister for the Government’s rapid intervention, expressing pride in the use of Government-owned entities to mobilize and coordinate the relief effort, and voicing confidence in NEC’s capacity to deliver quality supplies. The first consignment was expected to reach Kaabong District by close of the day.

Welcoming the Prime Minister to NEC Headquarters, Managing Director Lt. Gen. James Mugira outlined the Corporation’s constitutional mandate as the commercial of the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MoDVA). He affirmed NEC’s readiness to execute the Presidential Directive with the precision of a military operation, guaranteeing quality and timely delivery. He further revealed that the relief food was entirely home-grown and processed by NEC, grown at the Corporation’s five-square-mile Kyankwanzi farm and processed at its grain storage and milling plant in Kigumba.

The Managing Director was accompanied at the function by the Deputy Managing Director and the General Manager of NEC Agro Limited.