Over 350 displaced, gardens destroyed as rain pounds nine Namutumba villages
Mazuba sub-county LC3 chairperson (L), James Mugurwa, inspects some of the houses whose roofs were blown off following heavy rains that wreaked havoc in the area on Monday evening. PHOTO | RONALD SEEBE
What you need to know:
- A similar storm struck the area last year, destroying crops and 15 houses which left at least 100 residents homeless
Over 350 residents across nine villages in Mazuba sub-county, Namutumba District, have been displaced and risk suffering hunger and poverty after heavy rains, characterised by strong winds, destroyed more than 37 houses and garden crops on Monday evening.
The affected villages include; Kakunyu, Nsoola ‘A’, Nsoola ‘B’ Namuwayo, Bumbala, Kasuleta A, Kasuleta ‘B’ Bukyede ‘A’, and Bukyede ‘B’.
The rainstorm, which lasted for about three hours, blew off the roofs of several houses, while at least 75 hectares of crop gardens, including cassava, maize, rice, coffee and bananas, were destroyed.
Bukyede ‘A’ Village LC1 chairperson, Robert Mugenyi, said many affected households are in need of food and shelter, and called upon area Members of Parliament and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to intervene with iron sheets and food.
The catastrophe comes after the OPM had just delivered iron sheets to be distributed to dilapidated schools in the district.
“This is not the first time rainstorms have hit the area; last year, rainstorms destroyed crops and people were hit by famine. However, we did not get any relief items and support from the government, even after writing to the OPM office through the Resident District Commissioner (RDC),” Mugenyi said on November 5.
A similar storm struck the area last year, destroying crops and 15 houses which left at least 100 residents homeless.
Nabongho Kwagala, a resident of Bukyede Village, said his rice plantation has completely been destroyed after getting a bank loan, while Daniel Batanda Daniel, a resident of Mazuba Village, urged residents to adopt planting trees.
“People are not planting trees and are busy cutting every tree that matures for charcoal burning that is why we are suffering from persistent rainstorms,” he said.
Kakunyu Village LC1 chairman, Ben Kafanka Ben, said the idea of planting trees is “good”, but they cannot plant trees in the swamps. “The only space where people can plant trees is where they grow crops.”
Mazuba sub-county LC3 chairperson, James Mugurwa, said almost every season, either at the beginning or end, people of Nsoola Parish face rainstorms but get no support from the government, which he described as “very unfortunate”.
Namutumba LC5 chairperson, David Mukisa, said the district is becoming one of those in the country facing such a disaster almost every year.
“It is not only Nsoola Parish in Mazuba sub-county that have been affected, but other villages like Ivukula sub-county and Bulange,” he said, adding that the OPM has provided support to the victims; however, it is small and can’t sustain all the affected families.
