200 houses, 5 boda bodas buried by mudslides in Kasese

Kasese, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Over 200 families in Isule parish, Maliba subcounty in Kasese district are without a place of abode after mudslides covered their homes in the area.

But even mobile assets were not spared, among these five boda boda motorcycles whose owners had taken shelter only for the fast-flowing mud to sweep their bikes away.

At least 12 villages including Isule I and II, Bwatho, Kamabwe, among others are affected. The other affected villagesare Kibota, kitoka and Nyangere.

The landslides followed the heavy rains that buttered the area throughout Wednesday night and Thursday.

Many access routes in and out of the sub county have been cut-off leaving the affected persons without access to aid and social services.

The Maliba- Buweyale- Isule route is inaccessible by motorists. Izinga Armco bridge connecting Maliba to Boyoge sub county through Bwizibwera cell has been submerged.

Baguma Seriwaye a boda boda rider was found stranded on the way after failing to access his business stage in Malaiba trading centre,  told URN that mudslides covered his one acre of coffee gardens and destroyed part of his house.

“Mudslides have blocked a section of the road and we are stranded because we only access what to eat from this road.” Serwaye told URN

Nixon Baluku a local pastor in Buweyale parish was found mobilizing  residents to open up a section of the road the mudslide had covered.

He says they need immediate assistance as the rains which begun on Tuesday have already left a trail of destruction, leaving many people with neither shelter nor gardens.

“We are mobilising ourselves to open the access road but obviously we need political support because the rain seems to have only started.” Baluku says

Shaban Bwambale, a local resident of Kibota says he lost over 2 acres of his vanilla to the mudslides, yet part of the destroyed investment was a loan from a Sacco which he has been financing monthly.

Abdulahi Bayungana, the Imam Isule mosque says the mudslides destroyed the mosque’s latrine and building materials they had just bought to renovate the mosque.

The mosque also lost its agricultural demo gardens.

Siraj Mubuuga the chairperson Isule boda boda riders says 5 boda boda motorcycles were lost when riders went to seek shelter from the heavy rains on Wednesday.

He says the motorcycles were carried down by heavy and fast flowing mudslides.

Ronald Mate, of a local Village Health Team from Kamabwe village says about 10 families have been left without shelter and sanitation facilities.

He observes the need for immediate intervention to avert any possible outbreak of diseases like cholera and malnutrition among young children.

Kamabwe is among the four villages in Isule parish left out from the on-going mass cholera immunization exercise in the district.

The Isula I LC1 chairperson Semu Modele told the bURN reporter that the situation has been worsened by water tributaries that have burst their banks pushing overflows into the community.

He says over 5 community-access roads including Isule-Kitoko, Muwelo-Kisule, Muwelo-Nyangorongo among others have been cut-off by mudslides. Isule primary school has also had its latrine destroyed.

“We haven’t yet got any communication from the district leadership regarding the resettlement of the displaced persons,” Modele said on Thursday afternoon.

Gedeon Kipura working with Red Cross told URN on Thursday evening that they are still making assessment of the affected communities.

However, he says preliminary findings indicate that 11 villages have been affected by the mudslides.

Xavier Bagonza the Maliba LC111 chairperson says they are engaging district leaders to mobilise resources to help the affected communities.

By Thursday evening the displaced were assembling at Kyabikuha primary school for shelter.

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URN