Landslide victims want to be settled in Bugisu 

Last month, another landslide had occurred in the villages of Bukirindya, Busiu Nalugugu and Kilulu in Bukirindya Parish, Bukise Sub-county in Sironko District, killing animals and destroying food crops.  The landslide also buried two homes and displaced about 600 locals.

 The chairperson of Bududa, Mr Milton Kamoti, said there would be loss of lives if people living in risky areas with cracks are not relocated.
“With this ongoing rain, we ask the government to intervene and expedite the relocation process,” Mr Kamoti said.

He expressed disappointment with the government, saying since the relocation started in 2019, only 110 out of the identified 500 householdS have been resettled.

“The government should expedite the construction of more houses at Bunambutye resettlement camp so that more families are shifted from Bududa,” Mr Kamoti said.

He made the remarks during a meeting with the Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, at Bumwanye Village in Bulucheke Sub-county, on Saturday. 
This was shortly after Ms Nabbanja had visited the landslide scenes in Nakhatore and Bweli villages.

The government started the relocation and resettlement of landslide victims to Bunambutye resettlement site in Bulambuli in 2019 after the office of the Prime Minister bought more than 2,800 acres of land in 2013.

Close to 241 families, comprising more than 4,000 people have so far been resettled in the camp in two phases between 2019 and 2020. 

The first batch was resettled in May 2019 and another in February 2020.
 Mr Abbas Namukhon, the chairperson of Bumwanye, said the government should instead relocate and resettle people to safer places within the district, reasoning that it’s cheaper.

 “The government should reconsider and resettle people within the district because we have a lot of land, which is safe for settlement,” Mr Namukhon said.
Bududa has 23 sub-counties and five town councils, but only four sub-counties have been mapped as safe for resettlement. The district has had a series of disaster occurrences since the 1970s.

The State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Ms Agnes Nandutu, said the government should promote urbanisation in Bududa as part of a long-term plan for resettlement.   

 “We want to promote urbanisation because my people are tired of carrying dead bodies back to Bududa for burial from wherever they have been relocated and resettled,” Ms Nandutu, who is also the district Woman MP, said.

Some of the locals said some of their relatives, who were relocated to Kiryandongo in 2010 following the Nametsi landslide have since returned due to bad weather and hostility from the hosting communities.

 In a district memo read by Mr Kamoti, Ms Nabbanja was also asked to investigate allegations that landslide survivors in Kiryandongo are living in fear due to mysterious deaths of their colleagues.

 “It’s important to note that not all the community resettled has been able to access the land and housing promised,” the October 16 memo read in part.

 Mr Peter Wamoto, a resident of Bukalasi Village, said there is a crack that has formed near his house, but he has nowhere to go. 
 “I was left during the relocation programme even after showing them the crack that runs near my house,” he said.

Ms Suzan Nangelo, another resident from Budesi Sub-County, whose house was covered with mud last week, said she has left her home and is now staying with her uncles in Bubiita Sub-county. 
 “I appeal to the government to come to our rescue because we have nowhere to go,” she said.

A disaster assessment survey by the Uganda Red Cross Society recently indicated that a 1000-feet deep crack has crept through Mt Elgon putting surrounding communities at risk.

  Ms Agatha Wakoko, the councillor representing Bundesi Parish in Bundesi Sub-County, asked the government to relocate her people or compensate them.
 “Some of the people who were resettled to Kiryandongo after the 2010 landslide have never got houses,” she said.

 Mr Isaac Modoi, the Lutsheshe County Member of Parliament in Bududa, said he will present the issue on the floor of Parliament.
 “More than 1,500 people have lost their crops and over 500 houses are at risk of being swept by a landslide,” he said.

He said evident cracks have formed in the sub-counties of Bukalasi, Bubiita, Bundes, Bumayoka, Bulucheke, Nakatsi, and Bukibokolo.

Ms Nabbanja said the government was determined to relocate and resettle all people living in disaster prone areas.
“We are determined to resettle people so that they live peaceful lives,” she said, adding that there is still more land for resettlement at Bunambutye camp.

Ms Nabbanja also urged the locals to embrace tree planting as a mitigating factor to control landslides. 
“We should plant trees in the high risky areas as we live in lower areas, which are safe and free from disasters,” she said.

Previous landslides

In June, 2019, a landslide occurred in Buwali Sub-county, leaving five people dead and more than 400 displaced in Bududa. In October 2018, 42 people were reportedly killed and more than 500 people displaced in Suume Village in Bukalasi Sub-county in Bududa. In August 2017, a landslide hit Bufupa Parish in Sironko District, killing seven people and displacing hundreds. 

In June 2012, another landslide occurred in Namaga and Bunakasala villages in Bumwalukani Sub-county in Bududa, leaving about 450 people dead and property, including houses, destroyed and livestock killed.

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