UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | Nine houses collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday, November 15, 2022 amid a strong downpour, leaving three people dead.
According to the police, nine houses in Kitintale and Mutungo zones 11 and 12 of Kampala’s Nakawa Division fell during the downpour.
Authorities say some of the houses were constructed on the edge of a stream that floods when it rains.
The authorities found the victims’ bodies on Wednesday morning. The deceased were identified as Kannan Bujjo, 25, Emma Kayanga, 20, and a four-months-old baby.
The first occurrence was reported at Mutongo zone 2 of the Nakawa division of Kampala City, when a temporary building housing Bujjo Kannan and Emma Kayanga, fell, instantly killing both.
The second event involving the death of the four-months-old baby, Praise Mugezi, occurred in Mutungo zone 1 when a makeshift home collapsed.
Police suspect that the deceased could have been electrocuted when the loose wires came in contact with the water.
“Because the wall had electric wires which were naked live wires, it could have touched the water and these people could have been shocked,” says Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango.
Luke Owoyesigire, the Kampala Metropolitan police Deputy spokesperson, adds, “Unfortunately, by the time our officers arrived at the scene, the child’s parents had already taken away the body [of the baby]. Their particulars are yet to be established. The two bodies were taken to the city mortuary Mulago for postmortem as we investigate the exact cause of death.”
Leaders in Mutungo attribute the ongoing collapse of buildings to the residents who persist in erecting structures in wetlands, despite warnings not to. They say this tragedy could have been avoided if the residents had vacated the wetland, after they were warned of the dangers when it rains.
“Our scenes of crime officers said the problem was with the draining system, which was blocked and the whole place flooded. That’s how it weakened most of the walls of those makeshift houses that are there,” says Mr Patrick Onyango.
“We appeal to the public to avoid sleeping in temporary structures, especially when they are in low-lying areas that are easily flooded,” Mr Onyango adds.
Mutungo Zone 11’s chairman, Mr Wasiya David, accused several investors of obstructing nearby drainage and causing the water flow to be diverted.
Ronald Balimwezo, Member of Parliament, Nakawa East says, “All the gateways to Lake Victoria have been degraded by the rich people. When you go to Bulogobi and you go to Zone 12 people have poured murram into the swamp, into the ecosystem, and that’s the reason we have backflow of water whenever it rains.”
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