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Mityana leaders, Police clash over dead bodies dumped in residential area
A man passes by heaps of garbage along the road leading to Mityana Municipal public cemetery. PHOTO BY JESSICA NABUKENYA.
What you need to know:
- They claim that they always see police patrols dump dead bodies near a garbage dumping site located at the village. Local leaders also complain about the poorly-managed garbage dumping site which has seen a stench engulf the entire village, creating a filthy environment.
- The last two bodies, according to local leaders, were dumped in the area in the last two weeks of December. The bodies were buried later after local leaders and residents complained over foul smell that was coming from decomposing bodies.
Local leaders in Namukozi East Village in Mityana Municipality have clashed with Police over dead bodies dumped in the area.
They claim that they always see police patrols dump dead bodies near a garbage dumping site located at the village. Local leaders also complain about the poorly-managed garbage dumping site which has seen a stench engulf the entire village, creating a filthy environment.
The last two bodies, according to local leaders, were dumped in the area in the last two weeks of December. The bodies were buried later after local leaders and residents complained over foul smell that was coming from decomposing bodies.
Ms Christine Kyagulanyi, the vice chairperson Namukozi East Village, says the dumping site poses a health threat to their lives and wants it relocated far away from the residential area.
“They [garbage and dead bodies] are dumped at a hill, and when it rains, runoff water ends up in spring wells where we draw water for domestic use. The stench from the garbage heaps is awful. Sometimes we fail to eat food from our living rooms,” she said during an interview on Sunday.
It is in this same village where the Kiyinda- Mityana diocese cathedral and head offices are located. The catholic bishop Stephen Kazimba’s residence, schools like Bishop Lutaaya Theological College, Mityana Secondary School, Mityana Junior School and other institutions are also situated in the same area.
Ms Kyagulanyi says they have always reported this problem to municipal leaders and Police but no action has been taken.
“The last dead body was dumped in the area on December 31. It was buried on New Year Day after residents staged a demonstration,” she added.
But Mr Norbert Ochom, the Wamala Regional Police spokesperson, says municipal leaders are to blame since they have failed to properly manage the garbage dumping site adjacent to the public cemetery.
"The said garbage dumping site is adjacent to the municipal public cemetery. When our patrol truck took there unclaimed bodies from Mityana Hospital, they found the road leading to the cemetery blocked with huge heaps of garbage .The bodies were temporarily left by the roadside , but were later buried at the cemetery,” he said.
Mr Paul Kabenge, the Mityana hospital senior administrator said whenever people fail to collect bodies of their dead relatives for two weeks, they usually ask Police to take the bodies to the public cemetery .
"We usually ask Police to take them [unclaimed bodies] to the cemetery, but actual burial is usually done by municipal workers at the cemetery," Mr Kabenge says.
Mr Nuuhu Kalamwa, a resident of Namukozi East Village says unclaimed are also shoddily buried at the public cemetery .
“The unclaimed bodies which are buried in shallow graves are partly responsible for a stench that has invaded the whole village. Sometimes, the dogs exhume the bodies and eat parts of them,” he says.
Mr Fred Wotonava, the mayor Mityana Central Division says both municipality and police have to play their roles and save residents from the awful stench.
“Our task as divisional leaders is to gather garbage which we have managed to do well. It is the responsibility of the municipality to take the garbage to the dumping site. Police officers tasked to take unclaimed bodies should also know that they are violating the rights of the dead to have peaceful rest,” he said.
He says, together with residents in the area, they have given the municipal council one week to rectify the mess at the garbage dumping site and also ensure that the dead bodies are buried afresh.
“If [municipal authorities] don’t act in one week, I will mobilize the affected residents to pick and dump them at the office of the town clerk in protest,” he adds.
Mityana Municipality Town Clerk, Ms Juliet Nakawuka declined to comment about the poor state of the garbage dumping site.
“Come to my office if you want to know anything concerning the solid waste disposal site and public cemetery, not on phone,” she said before hanging up.
The land housing both the public cemetery and garbage dumping site is measuring 8 acres and was bought by Mityana Municipal Council a decade ago. Some five acres are used as a garbage dumping site while one acre serves as a cemetery. Another one acre is still vacant while another houses a faecal sludge for Mityana Town.
