Lake Kyoga rises, 45 families displaced in Nakasongola

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Forty five families in Munami village in Nakasongola district have been displaced because of the increasing water level in Lake Kyoga. The affected families have taken refuge in a community church hall.

Julius Ssebukeera, a resident of Munami village says heavy winds pushed water into their houses on Tuesday night prompting them to flee for their dear lives.

He says some of the residents pitched camp under trees and church hall waiting for the water to subside in vain. Fazil Mugoya, another affected resident says the water also destroyed their crop gardens which has exposed them to hunger. Yusuf Muyingo, another resident says they are worried about dangerous floods should the rain season set in.

Clay Emmerson Olupot, another resident says they have nowhere to relocate too since they were they forcefully evicted by Nakasongola Army barracks from Kasenyi landing site.

Mariam Nabutaka the Lwampanga sub county female district councilor says the affected residents are also at risk of contracting cholera, COVID-19 and malaria. She says the only available toilet is filled up which has left the affected people without any choice but to defecate in the open.

Nabutaka also says it is risky for 45 families comprising of 120 children to sleep together in the church at a time when the government is encouraging physical distancing to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. She wants government to find land and relocate the families following their eviction by Nakasongola Army barracks.

Retired Lieutenant Sam Kigula, the Nakasongola district LC 5 chairperson says preliminary investigations show that the increase in the water level was caused by the floating island at Ttumba- Kikooge villages.  Kigula explains that the floating island has blocked the water from flowing forcing the Lake to deposit it on land. He says they intend to appeal to Ministries of Transport and Works and Environment to clear the floating island.

Alex Felix Majeme the Nakasongola district Chief Administrative Officer says that he is also planning to petition the Office of Prime Minister to come to the rescue of affected families.

In March this year, hundreds of people on landing sites in Masaka district were displaced from their homes following a rise in the water level. In 2002, the water level in Lake Kyoga rose and submerged 375 square kilometers of surrounding land due to the blockage of its outlet.

The rise was caused by floating islands which were loosened by the 1997/98 El-Nino rains that blocked the lake outlet near Masindi port.

******

URN