Drinking in bars lands eight in police custody during cleaning day
Nuwagaba expressed disappointment over the arrest of residents who failed to participate, saying the programme requires only a small amount of people's time each month.
Prof. Nuwagaba, accompanied by Kabale District Chairperson Denis Nzeirwe, participates in a cleaning exercise. (Credit: Nelson Ahimbisibwe)
_____________________ Professor Augustus Nuwagaba participates in a cleaning exercise. (Credit: Nelson Ahimbisibwe)
Police in Kabale district have arrested eight people for allegedly violating National Cleaning Day guidelines as Bank of Uganda (BoU) Deputy Governor Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba joined residents and government officials in cleaning parts of Kabale municipality.
The arrests were ordered by Kabale deputy resident district commissioner Michael Muramira Kyakashari, who accompanied Prof. Nuwagaba during the cleaning exercise held on Saturday (September 26).
The exercise brought together government officials, students, religious leaders and other community members who cleaned areas around Kabale Central Market, the Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (UNITE) Kabale Campus and the BoU Kabale Branch.
Kyakashari said some of those arrested were found drinking alcohol in bars instead of participating in the scheduled cleaning activities.
“You can imagine: the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda is here with a broom, sweeping to clean his country, while some residents of the area are in bars, busy drinking alcohol,” Kyakashari said.
He warned residents against ignoring the National Cleaning Day programme, saying the guidelines would be enforced to ensure greater participation.
Kyakashari said people who refused to clean their surroundings would be arrested and could be taken to prison to undertake cleaning work.
Kyakashari said the measures would continue until residents embraced the programme and participated voluntarily rather than waiting to be forced.
The arrests came as Prof. Nuwagaba, who was in Kabale on official duties, joined the community cleaning exercise, using a broom to clear litter from public areas.
Nuwagaba expressed disappointment over the arrest of residents who failed to participate, saying the programme requires only a small amount of people's time each month.
He said Ugandans have 672 hours in a month, yet National Cleaning Day requires only three hours of participation.
“Kabale is my home, and I’m disappointed to see eight people being arrested for being too lazy to clean their home. They have shamed us,” Nuwagaba said.
He urged residents to take responsibility for maintaining clean surroundings, linking sanitation and hygiene to the prevention of disease.
Nuwagaba said more than 75 per cent of Uganda’s disease burden was linked to poor sanitation and hygiene, adding that National Cleaning Day was among the initiatives intended to address the problem.
The exercise also provided an opportunity for leaders at UNITE Kabale Campus to raise some of the institution’s infrastructure and security concerns.
UNITE Kabale Campus dean Annet Komunda asked the Deputy Governor to support efforts to improve access roads connecting the campus to Kabale town centre.
She also cited the need for a perimeter fence and improved street lighting, saying the interventions would improve security and accessibility around the institution.
Kabale LC5 chairperson Denis Nzeirwe Ndyomugyenyi said some of the concerns raised by the institution had already been incorporated into planned municipal infrastructure projects.
Nzeirwe said two roads serving the campus, including Rukonjo Road, which connects the institution to Nyakambu trading centre in Kabale Municipality’s Southern Division, had been included among projects earmarked for funding under the Uganda Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme.
He said the planned interventions would improve connectivity to the campus and benefit surrounding communities.
The National Cleaning Day programme is intended to mobilise communities to regularly clean their homes, workplaces, markets, roads and other public spaces.
The programme has also attracted enforcement measures in different areas, with authorities urging residents, businesses and institutions to comply with the scheduled activities.
In Kabale, Saturday’s exercise combined enforcement with community mobilisation, as leaders sought to encourage residents to make sanitation and hygiene a routine responsibility.