Floods displace 10 families in Kasese

May 08, 2011

HEAVY floods on Friday hit Kilembe Quarters in Kasese town, displacing families and destroying property worth millions of shillings. Of the families affected, 10 were completely dispossessed, while 20 rescued some of their belongings.

By John Nzinjah

HEAVY floods on Friday hit Kilembe Quarters in Kasese town, displacing families and destroying property worth millions of shillings. Of the families affected, 10 were completely dispossessed, while 20 rescued some of their belongings.

This followed a heavy downpour that started at about 2:00am and ended at around 8:00am.

Hawa Kamalha, a mother of three and member of one of the affected families, said: “I woke up at about 3:00am and found the house flooded.”

Hawa said she quickly woke up her children and rushed them out before water submerged her house.

The NRM vice-chairperson of Kasese municipality, Israel Masereka, attributed the floods to poor planning by technocrats.

Kasese district Police commander Paul Mumbogwe said no deaths had been reported but urged the authorities to quickly address the problem.

Kilembe Quarters is among the areas in the municipality, including Nyakasanga, Kikonzo, Kidodo, Kizungu and Railway village, that experience heavy floods every rain season.

The municipality engineer, Apolo Bamwine, attributed the floods to political interference in the planning of the town.

He said politicians usually interfere in the process of offering tenders for construction works in the municipality and encourage people to build in areas that are supposed to be drainage channels.

The town clerk, Wilson Musabe, said he was not aware of the current floods.

He said residents had built on top of the blocked drainage channel that originates from Kasesa swamp behind Bakoko market and passes through the affected area.

“The problem is the 1998 Land Act which gives citizens excessive power over ownership of land. It has encouraged people to grab land set aside for government projects,” Musabe said.

He said they need over sh5b to address the drainage problem.


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