Prime
Broken River Ssezibwa bridge leaves canoe rowers saviours
Travellers cross River Ssezibwa in Mukono District on Sunday. PHOTO | FRED MUZAALE.
What you need to know:
- Some residents claimed that some travellers drowned as they attempted to cross the river on foot. The section of the bridge that was washed away has fast-moving waters measuring about 60 metres wide.
Travellers plying the Kyabazaala-Kabimbiri route in Mukono District have resorted to using canoes to cross River Ssezibwa after heavy rain washed away the bridge.
Mr Dan Nsiiro, the chairperson of Munkoko Village, on Sunday said the makeshift bridge that was washed away had been constructed by residents two years ago.
“Travellers are suffering. Besides the canoe being risky, they have to dig deep into their pockets to pay Shs1,000 or Shs2,000 if they are moving with their motor-cycle or bicycle,” Mr Nsiiro said.
He added: “Some travellers who don’t have the money get stranded at the river.”
Some residents claimed that some travellers drowned as they attempted to cross the river on foot. The section of the bridge that was washed away has fast-moving waters measuring about 60 metres wide.
Ms Sanyu Namusoke, an affected resident, asked government to construct a new and strong bridge to ease movement across the river and also help them save money.
Mr Saidi Ojuma, who operates a canoe at the site, said: “Members of Parliament, the district chairperson, and officials from Ministry of Works visited this area and promised to do something in vain.”
Mr Ojuma explained that the canoe operates from 8am to 7pm every day.
When this reporter visited the site on Sunday, residents who had a 10-year-old-girl allegedly scalded with hot water had to wait for several minutes for the boat so that they could take her Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital.
Asked why works on the bridge have delayed, Eng Lawrence Pario, the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) head of structures and bridges, said the bridge is under Mukono District Local government not the road authority.
Mr James Nkata, the Mukono chief administrative officer, said: “Studies show that the bridge to be constructed across the river should be like the one over River Ssezibwa on the Kayunga-Mukono-highway.”
He said about Shs500m is needed to reconstruct the bridge, but “as a district, we don’t have that money.”
The Mukono District chairperson, the Rev Peter Bakaluba Mukasa, said the works department assessed the site but found the work was too big for the district.
“We wanted to carry out the reconstruction works of the bridge but we lack the financial muscle to do it. We are asking Unra to intervene,” Rev Bakaluba said.
When the bridge had just been washed away, the Unra executive director, Ms Allen Kagina, inspected the area and assured residents that a new bridge would be constructed.
Background
During the 2016 presidential campaigns, President Museveni commissioned both the road and bridge.However, the bridge collapsed in 2019 following torrential rains. Residents mobilised and erected a makeshift bridge using eucalyptus poles but it collapsed last week.
Ssezibwa river flows from the wetlands surrounding Lake Victoria into Lake Kyoga in Kayunga District.
