Bududa victims move to new home
Oct 06, 2010
THE Government yesterday began relocating displaced persons from Bulucheke camp in Bududa district to Kiryandongo district in western Uganda.

By Daniel Edyegu
THE Government yesterday began relocating displaced persons from Bulucheke camp in Bududa district to Kiryandongo district in western Uganda.
A total of 50 households out of the 412 registered were ferried in five buses, while their property, including livestock, were transported in trailers. Each household had an identification card.
Bulucheke camp has been home to 8,117 displaced persons that the Government evacuated from Bukalasi and Bumayoka sub-counties in the aftermath of the March 1 landslides which buried over 300 people at Nametsi trading centre.
“I was among the people taken to Kiryandongo for an assessment tour of the place. The land has fertile soils though the weather is slightly hotter than here. We will miss the mountainous terrain,†said Michael Wabomba, 45, a former teacher at Nametsi Primary School, who survived the disaster.
Pamela Komujuni, the disaster management officer in the Office of the Prime Minister, said the Government would carry out the relocation in phases and wind up in December.
“Another team is waiting at Kiryandongo to receive the displaced persons. Each will be given a temporary family tent and a few basic commodities to last two days. Thereafter, each will be shown their 2.5-acre plot of land,†Komujuni said.
She said the displaced persons would be resettled on 10 square miles of the 30 square miles that the Government owns in Kiryandongo.
According to Komujuni, for the start, the Government will clear an acre of land for each household to plant crops.
She said the Government had procured a contractor to build permanent houses for the displaced persons.
“Each house will consist of two bedrooms, a kitchen and living room at a cost of sh18m,†Komujuni said.
She added that after concluding the registration at the camp, the team would move to the affected sub-counties to educate the families on the dangers of residing on the mountain slope in a bid to make them vacate.
Komujuni said the Government is liaising with the National Forestry Authority and the National Environmental Management Authority to plant trees on the vacant land in the two sub-counties.
In the wake of the disaster, the Government promised to move the displaced persons before May 31.
The leaders proposed to relocate the residents to either Galiraya sub-county in Kayunga district or Bunambutye in Sironko district. However, the resettlement bid was shrouded by disagreements among political leaders in Bududa district.
In August, disaster preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru announced that the displaced persons would be relocated to Kiryandongo from September 2.
Due to the delay in relocation, some displaced persons at the camp have dragged the Government to court.
THE Government yesterday began relocating displaced persons from Bulucheke camp in Bududa district to Kiryandongo district in western Uganda.
A total of 50 households out of the 412 registered were ferried in five buses, while their property, including livestock, were transported in trailers. Each household had an identification card.
Bulucheke camp has been home to 8,117 displaced persons that the Government evacuated from Bukalasi and Bumayoka sub-counties in the aftermath of the March 1 landslides which buried over 300 people at Nametsi trading centre.
“I was among the people taken to Kiryandongo for an assessment tour of the place. The land has fertile soils though the weather is slightly hotter than here. We will miss the mountainous terrain,†said Michael Wabomba, 45, a former teacher at Nametsi Primary School, who survived the disaster.
Pamela Komujuni, the disaster management officer in the Office of the Prime Minister, said the Government would carry out the relocation in phases and wind up in December.
“Another team is waiting at Kiryandongo to receive the displaced persons. Each will be given a temporary family tent and a few basic commodities to last two days. Thereafter, each will be shown their 2.5-acre plot of land,†Komujuni said.
She said the displaced persons would be resettled on 10 square miles of the 30 square miles that the Government owns in Kiryandongo.
According to Komujuni, for the start, the Government will clear an acre of land for each household to plant crops.
She said the Government had procured a contractor to build permanent houses for the displaced persons.
“Each house will consist of two bedrooms, a kitchen and living room at a cost of sh18m,†Komujuni said.
She added that after concluding the registration at the camp, the team would move to the affected sub-counties to educate the families on the dangers of residing on the mountain slope in a bid to make them vacate.
Komujuni said the Government is liaising with the National Forestry Authority and the National Environmental Management Authority to plant trees on the vacant land in the two sub-counties.
In the wake of the disaster, the Government promised to move the displaced persons before May 31.
The leaders proposed to relocate the residents to either Galiraya sub-county in Kayunga district or Bunambutye in Sironko district. However, the resettlement bid was shrouded by disagreements among political leaders in Bududa district.
In August, disaster preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru announced that the displaced persons would be relocated to Kiryandongo from September 2.
Due to the delay in relocation, some displaced persons at the camp have dragged the Government to court.