By Daniel Edyegu

OVER 300 families residing on the mountainous parts of Manafwa district have fled their homes due to the emergence of cracks in the ground, signaling an imminent recurrence of landslides.

The gaping cracks that slither through gardens, compounds and under rock are visible in the seven sub-counties of Mukhoto, Bupoto, Bumbo, Bwabwala, Mukhoho, Tsekhululu and Kaato. In some areas, mini landslides that occurred about two weeks ago, have destroyed banana crops.

Rose Wangaya, 38, of Nabirara village in Mukhoto, narrated that she abandoned her home on a steep slope with her five children after narrowly surviving a mini-landslide.

“We were getting shelter from the evening drizzle when the landslide occurred. The ground faulted and carried down the poultry house located about three metres from our house. This frightened us. I decided to rent a house in the village to avoid danger,” Wagaya said.

Moses Masabasi, 56, from Maalo village, said the mini-landslide buried about two acres of his coffee plantation that was inter-cropped with cassava, potatoes and bananas.

“I have eight children who are all at school. That is the only piece of land that I have been tilling to earn money to cater for their education and feeding. My family now lacks food and I’m relying on handouts from relatives,” he said.

Solomon Nagimolo, a local council official of Nabirara village, explained that much as the landslide did not kill people, it would result into hunger, as most people lost crops.

“What saved us was that the landslides occurred during the day so people who saw cracks on the ground fled to safety before they could be carried off. Displaced people are living with relatives, while some have opted to rent houses in the local trading centres at ranging between sh5,000 and sh7,000 per month,” Nagimolo said.

George Wanakina, the Manafwa natural resource’s officer explained that the fresh cracks were signs of a looming landslide and urged the residents to stay away from such spots. Wanakina said the faults were created due to the poor farming methods and population pressure.

Following a directive from the office of the prime minister, the Manafwa disaster management committee led by the district chief administrative officer, Juma Nkunyinji, visited the sub-counties to analyse the extent of the disaster and determine appropriate intervention.

Nkunyinji stated that the district was planning to evacuate most of the residents who were residing on the faulted slopes.

“We plan to temporarily put them up in schools and churches. What we need urgently is food, tarpaulins and toilets. This disaster has come in the wake of a cholera outbreak in the district. We have to find measures to mitigate the spread of the disease,” Nkunyinji said.

He lamented that only 50 bags of sugar and 200 of maize had been delivered by charity organisations to the victims.

Manafwa neighbours Bududa district, which was hit by a devastating landslide three weeks ago. The Government declared that the whole of Mt. Elgon was prone to more landslides, after they swept away three entire villages and claimed over 300 lives in Bududa on March 2.

In the aftermath of the Bududa landslide, search teams consisting of UN Agencies, the Red Cross and the UPDF have recovered 95 bodies. over 350 people are still missing.

According to the ministry of disaster preparedness, over 3,000 people from 800 families have been resettled in Bulucheke camp. However, the number of displaced families is projected to climb to 900.

Also, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that more than 300,000 people near the mountain and the neighbouring lowlands had been displaced by floods. Of these, more than 33,000 people have been affected in Butaleja district, mainly due to crop loss.

Among the displaced are over 800 school-going children from the three affected sub-counties.

The children have been transferred from Tunuwasi, Nametsi and Kitsatsa primary schools, located within Bulucheke camp.