Rain-battered wall collapses, kills 5 people

 Five people died after a perimeter wall of a fuel station, weakened by rains, collapsed on their homes at night in Ndejje-Kanyanya Cell, a town on the outskirts of Kampala City.

The police identified the deceased as Phiona Nabulumba, Geoffrey Nabunywa, Moja Fuuku, a three-year-old Liana, and another only identified as Doreen. Their bodies have been conveyed to City Mortuary Mulago for a postmortem examination.

The perimeter wall of Good Luck Petrol Station collapsed on rental properties owned by Ms Proscovia Nalumansi.
Mr Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson, said: “Two individuals, Gladys Mukisa and one Sadat sustained severe injuries and are currently receiving medical attention at different hospitals.” 

Investigations commence
Police said detectives are investigating whether or not the owner of the fuel station  followed building standards.

“Katwe Police has launched a comprehensive investigation to determine the root cause of this unfortunate incident. Preliminary findings suggest that the perimeter wall of the fuel station weakened due to heavy rainfall, ultimately leading to its collapse onto the rental properties,” Mr Owoyesigyire said yesterday.

Some dwellers erect perimeter walls that are as high as three metres to prevent criminals from accessing their premises. 
However,  the 2021 national physical planning standards and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Lands  state that a boundary fencing wall must not exceed 1.5 metres in densely populated residential areas.
“Along the road boundaries, fences ...must be set back one metre inside the plot ,” the guidelines read in part.