According to the LC I chairman Sulaiman Musisi, the water terrorizing his residents drifts from as far as Nakanyonyi and far beyond, and that when it collects into the now giant gally, it begins to wreak havoc.
The residents of Kalagi village in Kyampisi sub-county, Mukono district have decried the growing danger around the water gully running through their crowded community which have of recent claimed lives of two children and left others injured.
One of the affected residents, Ssalongo Bright Ssebalamu said that their residential houses, latrines, kitchens and verandahs have been washed away despite the fact that the gally was just diverted into their community by the contractors of SBI contracted by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) then for the construction of Mukono-Kalagi-Bukolooto between 2015-2017.
According to the residents, when it begins to rain, some opt to lock their children indoors to restrain them from unmonitored movements, although, they hastened to add, some kids out of mischief slip away to play in water.
One of the properties in danger is a community borehole which is about to be left hanging in empty space after the soils around it are being washed away by the running water.
“Its unfortunate that we recently lost two children ranging between 3-5 years who drowned in the flooded water gally after raining. One of the deceased children belonged to a tenant who after the burial had no reason to stay here but to shift to a safer place,” Ssebalamu said, adding that however, most of them are not renting to easily run away from the dangerous trench.
They said it becomes exceedingly dangerous after heavy downpours when makeshift bridges they made are submerged, making it difficult to discern which is the safe treading area.
According to the LC I chairman Sulaiman Musisi, the water terrorizing his residents drifts from as far as Nakanyonyi and far beyond, and that when it collects into the now giant gally, it begins to wreak havoc.
Richard Muwawu, also a resident, has no kind words for the UNRA which is now the Ministry of Works and would be comfortable if the government arrested whoever is behind this havoc and charged with some serious offences including causing death to innocent humans.
“It’s so unfortunate that the people we thought were experienced engineers had to divert the water to a residential area without making prior calculations of what would happen in future,” he said.
Funnily, he pointed out, when they approach them for some corrective action, the ministry staff are said to have been advising them to shift to some safer areas.
Namuwaya Sarah showed our reporter her house which she said has had its verandah destroyed twice by the running water, adding that Kyampisi sub-county chairperson, Jamir Igar, former Mukono district chairman, Andrew Ssenyonga, Rev. Dr. Peter Bakaluba Mukasa the current district chairperson and area MP Abdallah Kiwanuka have offered no words of hope when approached.
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While Yiga said that his sub-county budget is very limited and cannot accommodate the works needed to address the trench issue, the residents said that their MP advised them to wake up, walk to Kampala themselves and identify a rightful authority to address their demand.
Last week on Friday, the former State Minister for Water, Ronald Kibuule led a three-man engineer team from the Ministry of Works and Transport led by Senior Engineer Jacob Asiimwe, including Stephen Nganda and Michael Natukunda Mutungi to inspect requirements for fixing the gulley on the directive of President Yoweri Museveni.
Kibuule said he acted on the petition which the residents sent to him asking for redress of the problem which has proved to be so deadly yet they have no means of addressing it.
“After informing the Minister for Works and Transport, Gen. Katumba Wamala, and President Museveni, here is the response, the engineers are going to make assessment and they will come up with a design and budget which I believe if all goes well, next financial year money will be availed in the ministry’s budget to have the problem addressed before killing more children and washing away more of people’s houses,” he said.
Kibuule added that he had followed up the matter to the extent that he had also put it before the president who was positive about it, but when he left leadership, he thought that his predecessor was pushing it up, yet according to the reactions from the community the matter was abandoned immediately after him leaving office.
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