Political leaders and civil servants in the Greater Luwero and Masaka sub-regions are divided over the government’s ongoing distribution of hand hoes to residents, amid allegations that the exercise has been politicised ahead of the 2026 general elections.
In December 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) procured 2.4 million hand hoes using a 20-billion-shilling grant released by the Ministry of Finance. Government plans to procure a total of seven million hoes for distribution nationwide.
Distribution began in central districts, including Luwero, Nakasongola, Nakaseke, Lwengo, Kalungu, Ssembabule and Masaka, among others. According to a circular issued by Major General David Kasura Kyomukama, the Permanent Secretary at MAAIF, the hoes are to be distributed to households at a rate of one hoe per household. He directed that clear records of beneficiaries be compiled and submitted to the ministry.
Kasura further instructed Chief Administrative Officers to oversee the administrative and technical processes involved in receiving and distributing the hoes. In Luwero District, the Chief Administrative Officer tasked the Production Department with overseeing the exercise and submitting accountability records. The district has so far received 100,400 hoes out of the 167,441 planned for households in the area.
However, Luwero LC5 Chairperson Erastus Kibirango says the exercise has been hijacked by NRM candidates seeking political advantage, in violation of electoral laws that prohibit the giving of gifts during campaigns.
Kibirango alleges that in Butuntumula Sub-county, aides of an NRM flag bearer for the parliamentary seat forcefully took hoes from sub-county offices after assaulting the Sub-county Chief, who had insisted that distribution be left to technical staff.
He says some NRM candidates are now using the hoes to solicit votes, claiming they personally lobbied them and presenting them as gifts from President Museveni. Kibirango says he has directed the CAO to restrict the exercise strictly to technical staff, warning that any mismanagement will attract personal liability.
Ronald Ndawula, an independent candidate for the Katikamu North parliamentary seat, says the distribution has also been skewed in favour of NRM supporters, with some hoes ending up in the hands of non-farmers.“I have information that some people who received hoes ended up selling them because they never applied for them. We want the CAO and police to investigate the exercise, especially in Katikamu North, because it was hijacked by NRM flag bearers and may not achieve its intended purpose,” Ndawula said.
Meanwhile, Robert Ssekitoleeko, the MP for Bamunanika County, says delivering hoes during the election period amounts to voter bribery. He says he has instructed his agents to document the distribution for possible court petitions.“You wonder why these hoes were delivered at this time. In my constituency, my rival Dr Kiyini and State Minister John Chrysostom Muyingo are using the hoes to decampaign me. This is meant to win support for NRM candidates,” Ssekitoleeko said.
He added that at a time when the world is embracing agricultural mechanisation, distributing hand hoes under the guise of promoting agriculture is a mockery.But Gaddafi Nasur, the NRM candidate for Katikamu North, defended the exercise, saying it reflects President Museveni’s concern for farmers. He urged residents to vote for NRM candidates in appreciation of the support and other government achievements.
State Minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo also defended the distribution, saying the hoes are intended to alleviate household poverty and that more support is planned. Muyingo insisted that the hoes were lobbied by NRM leaders and urged beneficiaries to vote NRM candidates in 2026 as appreciation for the intervention and other gains.
In Lwengo District, MAAIF delivered 68,000 hoes. However, chaos erupted on Monday during the launch of the distribution in Kinoni Town, where Bukoto West MP Muhammad Muyanja Ssentaayi clashed with his rival, Lwengo LC5 Chairperson Ibrahim Kitatta.
Muyanja disrupted the speech of the Resident District Commissioner, Emmy Kateera, demanding recognition of his role as MP, arguing that Parliament appropriated the funds for procuring the hoes. He further demanded that Kitatta be stopped from distributing the hoes or taking photos with them, claiming Kitatta would use the project to campaign against NRM flag bearers.
Muyanja, the NRM flag bearer for Bukoto West, is facing Kitatta, who is contesting as an independent candidate. Similarly, in Kalungu District, the incumbent Woman MP Aisha Ssekindi and former Defense Minister Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja are at loggerheads over the same programme.
On Tuesday, Ssempijja convened a meeting to launch the hoe distribution, drawing protests from Ssekindi and LC5 Chairperson Ahmed Mukiibi Nyombi, who accused him of hijacking the project for political gain.“Ssempijja wants to claim credit and use the hoes as political capital in his campaigns. We shall explain to our communities that these hoes were bought using public funds,” Nyombi said.
However, Ssempijja insists he cannot be detached from government programmes as one of the most senior NRM leaders in the area. It remains to be seen whether the hand-hoe distribution will achieve its intended objective, now that it has increasingly become entangled in electoral politics.
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