Malaba residents lock officials out of offices over garbage

Angry residents of Malaba town council on Thursday stormed the council offices and locked out the LC3 chairperson, Asa Kalami, and the Town Clerk, Irene Okuna, from their offices over uncollected garbage.

The residents who were also accompanied by their LC1 chairpersons who were demanding arrears accruing from 25% of remittances, accused the council administrators of diverting funds into their own pockets at the expense of service delivery.

Carrying placards and tree branches, the residents forced the council staff to flee the offices.

Godfrey Ndelo, the Malaba A South LC1 chairperson, said the residents fear an outbreak of cholera due to the filthy environment of the town. He said they are also enraged over the alleged diversion of local revenue funds, lack of consultation from leaders, the absence of meetings and the lack of accountabilities.

Malaba was in early 2018 hit by a cholera outbreak that claimed five lives. The outbreak was blamed on consumption of dirty water as a result of contamination with faecal matter.

"We are not going to tolerate this habit where funds are diverted to  fit a few individuals' stomachs yet roads are unpassable, garbage has remained uncollected for over two months and the town is filled with foul smell" one the residents said.

The protestors also wrote a letter to the Tororo chief administrative officer demanding for the immediate transfer of the town clerk, saying they are not ready to work with her.

Attempts to contact both Kalami and Okuna were futile by press time as calls to their known mobile numbers failed.