Kampala — THE Teso community in Kampala has launched a campaign to collect food and medical aid to support families in Teso region that have been devastated by famine.

The meeting, chaired by the Teso parliamentary group chairman, Patrick Amuriat (Kumi county), at the National theatre gardens on Tuesday, raised sh7.2m Amuriat said the MPs had raised sh5m and Pilgrims, an NGO, also donated food. The head of the programs, Solomon Ossiya, said 40 cartons of nutritious food had been mobilised for the children.

The heated meeting attended by MPs and opinion leaders from Teso also resolved that the MPs also attend a meeting of Acholi MPs which took place yesterday to compare notes. This came after reports that the Teso MPs were planning to boycott the Acholi meeting.

Amuriat said the Government had responded to the crisis poorly, because it had been fronted by a member of the Forum for Democratic Change. He expressed disappointment with the disaster preparedness minister, Tarsis Kabwegyere, saying he had tossed them around and down-played the crisis.

Katakwi and Amuria districts are the worst hit by the crisis that resulted from floods and a prolonged drought over the last two years.

Nine people are reported to have died over the last one month either due to starvation or for consuming poisonous wild fruits and leaves.

Amuriat said a child identified as Apidi, about 10 years old, of Ocowa sub-county in Kapelebyong county, died recently after eating a poisonous wild fruit. The MPs have boycotted attending Parliament over the matter starting on Monday.