Conditions in the four sub counties of Bukalasi, Buwali, Nalwanga, and Bubiita in Bududa District are worrying after residents started transported dead bodies on boda bodas for lack of help from the line ministry and Red Cross.
This morning, a body of an onion trader’s body was discovered by the Banks of River Manafwa which burst its banks last evening killing at least 40 people while hundreds others remain unaccounted for.
Residents mobilized and hired a boda boda to carry the body of the deceased to a nearby health center after trying to seek help from officials of the ministry of disaster preparedness but none was on site. The disappointed residents then tried to spot members of the Red Cross, in vain.
The body was discovered 5km away from Bukalasi Sub County which was hit by massive landslides on Thursday. The onion trader was carried by water five kilometers away from his trading area. Residents remain helpless, but a joint security crisis meeting has been called and it is sitting at Bukalasi.
The river burst its banks at about 2.30pm on Thursday following a heavy rainfall, rolling big boulders through a village in Bukalasi Sub County. By evening, 25 bodies, including 4 of children, had been recovered by and 400 people from the villages of Suume, Nyekhe, Malila, Lwanda, Nanyinza were believed to be missing. The death toll has since increased to 40 by this morning.
Last evening, the Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda sent a condolence message to the families of the deceased and announced that government had sent relief materials including tents, Blankets and jerrycans to help in the situation.
“We convey deep condolences to the victims of the Bududa Landslides following a heavy downpour in the area this afternoon. A Disaster team from the Office of the Prime Minister led by Brig Steven Oluka is on the way to join the district disaster rescue & recovery team.
Government has dispatched relief supplies including food, blankets, tents, tarpaulins, jerrycans and sourcepans. Let us all support our brothers and sisters at the hour of their greatest need” he said.
Bududa Landslides over the years;
Bududa District has experienced landslides since 2010 and hundreds of people have lost their lives. The first landslide in 2010 killed at least 350 people, about 28 were killed in 2011. In 2012, 6 people were buried in Sironko and 18 in Bududa.
In August 2013, a four year old child was killed when a hailstorm ravaged some villages causing multiple mudslides and floods in Bushiyi sub-county in Bududa district. 17 people were also injured in this tragedy.
In August 2017, a landslide destroyed three villages in Bulucheke Sub-County, Bududa district, leaving at least 200 people displaced. Over the years, government has tried to relocate victims of these landslides from Bududa district to other areas, though many residents insist on occupying land in these mountainous and disaster prone areas.
