BUDUDA, THE UNRESOLVED PUZZLE
Mar 10, 2010
When all four of his grandchildren who had gone to school did not return home that day, 70-year-old Dison Natsatsa thought they had decided to spend a night at their relative’s place near their school.
By John Masaba
When all four of his grandchildren who had gone to school did not return home that day, 70-year-old Dison Natsatsa thought they had decided to spend a night at their relative’s place near their school.
It was not long before he learnt the bitter truth that they had perished along with their host family of eight.
Like many of his villagemates, Natsatsa is struggling to come to terms with the disaster that struck Bududa, when tonnes of rocks buried hundreds of people alive. The villages of Kubeho, Namakansa and Nametsi were flattened after heavy rains pounded the area.
In the wake of the tragedy which claimed about 350 lives, theories have emerged about whether such a calamity could have been avoided.
Addressing residents in Bududa, President Yoweri Museveni called the disaster at Nametsi “a great tragedy which should make the country re-think practices that interfere with God’s natural engineering.â€
Cause of the problem
In 1993, the Government, by an Act of Parliament, decided to de-gazette all forest and wildlife conservation areas that were home to many communities, including people from Bududa.
While each occupant on this land was entitled to a resettlement, Abbas Wotuwa, the LC3 chairperson of Bubita, one of the mudslide prone areas, says people in Bududa never received compensation. He says people used their personal savings, many choosing to settle in marginal lands such as valleys at the foot of steep hills.
However, Fred Kizza, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) official in Mbale, says people in Bududa were not eligible for a resettlement package because they did not have homes in the reserve land like the Benet and other communities which were compensated.
He argues that the increase in population has compelled people in the area to encroach on reserve land. This has resulted into deforestation and degradation of the area.
“Soils around Mt. Elgon are porous and ashy,†Kizza explains. “This is why many areas around the mountain suffer periodic landslides.â€
Officials, locals clash
Last year, efforts to keep encroachers off the conserved land resulted into seven deaths which annoyed the local people. “These people torture us. They have come to finish us,†says 75-year-old Gabriel Mwankini, an elder of Bukalasi, one of the affected areas.
“When I was young, the forest was everything to us. We harvested huge bunches (of matooke) and collected firewood from it,†he adds.
To ease tension between the local people and UWA, UWA agreed with Bududa district last year that people make a living from cultivation of crops in the reserve land while planting trees in the degraded areas. However, the programme is yet to be implemented.
Tragedy not new in the area
About 13 years ago, a similar landslide killed 16 people following El Nino rains, but Wotuwa says no lesson was learnt to avert further calamities. “We got relief aid but the promises to move people from “red zones†to safer places remained on paper,†he says.
Government intervention
In 1997, President Yoweri Museveni asked officials from Bududa (by then under the Mbale district administration) to identify 9,000 square miles of land in any part of Uganda to resettle the people of Bulucheke sub-county who were affected by the landslides. He said the Government would foot the bill. Thirteen years later, there is nothing on the ground. So what went wrong?
Bududa Woman Member of Parliament, Oliver Wonekha, says the leaders relaxed and did not follow up the issue.
The Bududa district LC5 chairman, Wilson Watira, says: “We thought the people were safe, but we were wrong.â€
Watira says about 50,000 people living near the borders of the park are exposed to the dangers of landslides.
Fred Bukeni, the chairman of the Bugisu Parliamentary Group, notes. “We have identified some land and have written to the President asking for funds.†Bukeni explains.
He says they have identified over 7,000 acres of land at Bunambutye sub-county in Sironko district to resettle the displaced people.
However, Bunambutye is a disputed territory between the Bagisu and Sabiny of Kapchorwa, who both claim ownership of the land. This has ended up in machette fights between the two groups.
Residents reluctant to shift In spite of the dangers, many people are unwilling to move to other areas. “Our relatives are buried there. Who will weed around their graves when we leave?†wonders Esther Khaitsa.
For Vincent Nashelle, the “good weather†is a strong consideration. “We do not fall sick as often as people in warm areas. When our children go to study in warmer places, they fall sick regularly,†he says.
An official at Bududa local government says: “Nametsi was like the biblical Canaan. The best matooke and cows were there. It was an agricultural hub, known especially for onion growing.â€
Way forward,/b>
It is evident people in this area cannot make objective decisions hence exposing many to the dangers of constant mudslides. Therefore, there is need to decide for them. The declaration by Musa Ecweru, the Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness, that the Government might forcefully move locals from the red zone could be the best solution.
Additional reporting by Frederick Womakuyu
When all four of his grandchildren who had gone to school did not return home that day, 70-year-old Dison Natsatsa thought they had decided to spend a night at their relative’s place near their school.
It was not long before he learnt the bitter truth that they had perished along with their host family of eight.
Like many of his villagemates, Natsatsa is struggling to come to terms with the disaster that struck Bududa, when tonnes of rocks buried hundreds of people alive. The villages of Kubeho, Namakansa and Nametsi were flattened after heavy rains pounded the area.
In the wake of the tragedy which claimed about 350 lives, theories have emerged about whether such a calamity could have been avoided.
Addressing residents in Bududa, President Yoweri Museveni called the disaster at Nametsi “a great tragedy which should make the country re-think practices that interfere with God’s natural engineering.â€
Cause of the problem
In 1993, the Government, by an Act of Parliament, decided to de-gazette all forest and wildlife conservation areas that were home to many communities, including people from Bududa.
While each occupant on this land was entitled to a resettlement, Abbas Wotuwa, the LC3 chairperson of Bubita, one of the mudslide prone areas, says people in Bududa never received compensation. He says people used their personal savings, many choosing to settle in marginal lands such as valleys at the foot of steep hills.
However, Fred Kizza, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) official in Mbale, says people in Bududa were not eligible for a resettlement package because they did not have homes in the reserve land like the Benet and other communities which were compensated.
He argues that the increase in population has compelled people in the area to encroach on reserve land. This has resulted into deforestation and degradation of the area.
“Soils around Mt. Elgon are porous and ashy,†Kizza explains. “This is why many areas around the mountain suffer periodic landslides.â€
Officials, locals clash
Last year, efforts to keep encroachers off the conserved land resulted into seven deaths which annoyed the local people. “These people torture us. They have come to finish us,†says 75-year-old Gabriel Mwankini, an elder of Bukalasi, one of the affected areas.
“When I was young, the forest was everything to us. We harvested huge bunches (of matooke) and collected firewood from it,†he adds.
To ease tension between the local people and UWA, UWA agreed with Bududa district last year that people make a living from cultivation of crops in the reserve land while planting trees in the degraded areas. However, the programme is yet to be implemented.
Tragedy not new in the area
About 13 years ago, a similar landslide killed 16 people following El Nino rains, but Wotuwa says no lesson was learnt to avert further calamities. “We got relief aid but the promises to move people from “red zones†to safer places remained on paper,†he says.
Government intervention
In 1997, President Yoweri Museveni asked officials from Bududa (by then under the Mbale district administration) to identify 9,000 square miles of land in any part of Uganda to resettle the people of Bulucheke sub-county who were affected by the landslides. He said the Government would foot the bill. Thirteen years later, there is nothing on the ground. So what went wrong?
Bududa Woman Member of Parliament, Oliver Wonekha, says the leaders relaxed and did not follow up the issue.
The Bududa district LC5 chairman, Wilson Watira, says: “We thought the people were safe, but we were wrong.â€
Watira says about 50,000 people living near the borders of the park are exposed to the dangers of landslides.
Fred Bukeni, the chairman of the Bugisu Parliamentary Group, notes. “We have identified some land and have written to the President asking for funds.†Bukeni explains.
He says they have identified over 7,000 acres of land at Bunambutye sub-county in Sironko district to resettle the displaced people.
However, Bunambutye is a disputed territory between the Bagisu and Sabiny of Kapchorwa, who both claim ownership of the land. This has ended up in machette fights between the two groups.
Residents reluctant to shift In spite of the dangers, many people are unwilling to move to other areas. “Our relatives are buried there. Who will weed around their graves when we leave?†wonders Esther Khaitsa.
For Vincent Nashelle, the “good weather†is a strong consideration. “We do not fall sick as often as people in warm areas. When our children go to study in warmer places, they fall sick regularly,†he says.
An official at Bududa local government says: “Nametsi was like the biblical Canaan. The best matooke and cows were there. It was an agricultural hub, known especially for onion growing.â€
Way forward,/b>
It is evident people in this area cannot make objective decisions hence exposing many to the dangers of constant mudslides. Therefore, there is need to decide for them. The declaration by Musa Ecweru, the Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness, that the Government might forcefully move locals from the red zone could be the best solution.
Additional reporting by Frederick Womakuyu