In this article, we begin with a 2021 study in Karamoja by Dr. Bendicto Kabiito, which stated that there is a need to conduct research and publish information that accurately explains Karamoja’s realities. As a team working in the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition, we begin by accurately stating that “pick something good from someone and praise it.” Here, by “someone,” we mean the Karamoja Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) and their deputies. They have indeed played a big role in advancing the District Integrity Promotion Forums (DIPFs).
We know some readers will ask how and what we mean. Let us explain clearly. Before doing so, however, let us define the District Integrity Promotion Forums. These are platforms that bring together government officials, oversight institutions, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders at the district level to promote integrity, strengthen accountability, and prevent corruption in public service delivery (KACC, 2026).
Now, having defined the DIPFs, let us explain why we praise the Karamoja RDCs. Mamdani (1982), Ocan (1993), and Akabwai and Ateyo (2007), as cited by Kabiito (2021), acknowledge that narratives of poverty and scarcity, alongside negative portrayals of Karamoja and its people, continue a long history of political marginalisation in the region.
However, an examination of the available evidence shows that Karamoja districts have RDCs, Deputy RDCs, and Assistant RDCs who are political appointees and are very active in promoting the DIPFs. They are receptive, effective at mobilising stakeholders, and committed to chairing the forums. This was not the case when the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition began conducting the forums or engaging RDCs to organise them.
As Samuel Meyerson argues in “State Spaces and the Struggle for Karamoja’s Future, 1950–66,” some of Karamoja’s major problems involved political administrators. Today, however, the active involvement of RDCs in the DIPFs and the fight against corruption offers hope for improved service delivery.
Indeed, if the RDCs maintain this spirit and continue supporting the DIPFs, there is hope that Karamoja, despite recording some of the worst performance indicators for development and social wellbeing in Uganda, can change for the better.
Ayub Mukisa, PhD, writes from the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition (KACC).
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