Bududa mudslide victims of lies

Why the weakest link for them are unfulfilled government promises

Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Just before death struck Bukalasi village on Oct.11, there was a prolonged afternoon drizzle. It was the light type, and easily ignored by residents who are used to heavier rain.

Bududa is generally rain country with up to eight out of twelve months of the year typically wet. But the south-eastern tip, where Bukalasi is, gets the most rain – sometimes 50% more than other areas of this already wet zone.

And, although October is not one of the wettest months, any rain often finds the soil already soaked to breaking point by the August and September heavy rains. But residents know that the slow prolonged rain, as was falling that afternoon, is the most dangerous. Unfortunately, they can never tell when it will turn fatal.

That is what struck Paul Saleh, whose story has been one of the most reported. He was in his house with two children when he saw it filling with water and realised it was a mudslide. He and the children survived by scampering to the roof of his rather robust house. Others were not so lucky.

Many died in the villages of Tsuume, Nnayinza, Namakira, Nyekhr, Malanda, Shishambwa, Nanyenga, and Bunamwamba. According to Oct.15 estimates, about 40 people died.

An MP from the neighbouring area, Watenga Nabutanyi representing Lutseshe County, said rescue efforts were hampered because the landslide originated deep in the forest.

“We tried to reach there but in vain,” he said and described how trees that were swept by the landslide increased its intensity and how some of the dead perished in shanties they were sheltering in because it was a market day.

Many of the survivors say they first heard a loud crack, like something exploding. Justine Khainza, the Woman MP for Bududa district, who was involved in rescue activities with the district disaster management committee which was led by the Chief Administrative Officer, said residents in Bukalasi described it as a “huge bomb”. Disaster and death followed within minutes.

And unlike past landslides which were blamed on human depletion of tree cover from the mountain slopes, this one started deep in the forests.

Wilson Wotira, the LC 5 Chairman of Bududa district, told The Independent that the seasonal River Tsuume whose source is in Mt. Elgon National Park flooded, unleashing a torrent of rocks and mud that ravaged schools, homes, shops including a trading centre called Malandu-Naposhi. This is where the landslide found most of its victims.

Wotira says the landslide has puzzled them.

“We are yet to establish the real cause of this disaster. We have not yet had any specialists to help us understand what happened. Right now, we are using the forces; the army and police to go into the forest to help us with the search for bodies,” he explained.

By Oct. 13, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers were among the search and rescue teams in the Mt. Elgon National Park which is at the heart of the affected area.

Wotira told The Independent on Oct. 13 that the teams helping with relief efforts had allowed people to start burying the dead as they waited for more emergency relief. They were also re-opening roads leading to the scene in preparation for evacuation efforts.

The landside washed away two classrooms at Tsuume Junior Academy, a private school in the area and flattened a church, Wotira narrated.

The calamity has left Bukalasi sub-county, the epicenter of the affected area in ruins and in need of emergency help.

Wotira says it is difficult to ascertain the extent of the damage in terms of area but says roughly 7km from both banks of River Tsuume have been affected.

The landslide occurred a day before78 students in Senior Four at Bukalasi S.S. were set for a briefing for the national Uganda Certificate of Educations (UCE) exams. They have since been relocated to another centre to sit their exams.