Family memories buried in the rubble

Kampala

When Ms Catherine Orewo saw a bulldozer demolishing houses at 7 a.m. in the Naguru estates on Monday morning, she did not know that within two hours, the house that had been her home for over 30 years would also be on the ground.

At around 9 a.m., while she was ferrying her property from the house with the help of her four children, she saw the bulldozer crawl towards her house. “I ran away from my house with my children, leaving the remaining property inside because life is more precious than property.”

Two hours later, the only place that Ms Orewo had known as a home was a tree shade. She says she sent her children to her relatives in Muyenga because unlike her, “they could not stand the cold during the night. I stayed here because I needed to protect my property from thieves.” Her beddings, radio and children’s books were covered under the debris. “I have tried to look for them in vain, and I cannot find my children’s school books.” At the moment, she is contemplating seeking refuge in Nakawa market, because she has nowhere else to go since Naguru estate has been her home from childhood.

Rendered destitute
Mr J.M. Tiplee, born here 61 years ago and has lived in House H38 all his life, was also left homeless after the Monday Naguru-Nakawa estate demolition. A trader in mirrors, Tiplee lost the only place he knew as home and his business. “I had gone to the market to buy medicine because I was on treatment after an operation. I did not expect the demolition process to start at 7 a.m. But when I got back to the estate, I was welcomed by the site of debris in the place where my house had stood. There was no sign of any of my property.”

All he got left are the clothes and slippers he was wearing. He claims he had Shs300,000 plus property and glass worth Shs15 million in his house. But this was either stolen or now buried in the debris.
At the moment, the destitute Tiplee has been sleeping in what was formerly his compound, and relies on hand-outs given to him by passers-by. Because he has nothing to cover himself with, he has caught a fever and the state of his foot is worsening because he has not cleaned it since Monday. He cannot contact his children because his phone is faulty and he does not have their numbers off head.

The story of Mr Tiplee and Ms Orewo is shared by hundreds who were evicted by the Local government ministry from the Naguru-Nakawa housing estate during the week to pave way for the redevelopment of the area into a modern estate.

The estate, that was built for government workers in the 1950s, housed over 1,670 families from various parts of the country, many of who are retired civil servants and have lived here for over 20 years.
Kampala City Council began the process to redevelop the area in 1997, but government took over the process and in 2006, awarded the deal to Opec Prime Properties Ltd, owned by UK property dealers Brian and Luke Comer, to build a satellite city.

Government gave the tenants several eviction notices and promised to sell the units to them once the construction is complete, but this was largely disregarded by the residents. Mr Tony Paul Obita, who hails from Lamwo District, is sad to abandon what he called his home for 31 years. His 13 children were born and raised in the estate and it is where he met his wife. Unlike his neighbours with young children, seven of Obita’s children are now married, while three are at university, one in secondary and the last born in primary schools.

Obita is only sad to leave behind previous family memories, and angry that he was conned into paying for the house by people alleging to be KCC officials with the promises that it would be spared during the demolition.

Obita plans to go back to his home village in Lamwo, but for now, he has joined several of his former workmates at National Water and Sewerage Corporations (NWSC) who sleep in what was formerly his compound.

Mr Abas Rudolf, the Local Council leader of Naguru 1 Parish, Village 8, who formerly occupied House H30, was at his work place when he got a call from his neighbour, informing him about the demolition process that was taking place in his parish.

In the nick of time
“When they told me, I rushed back home. But as I branched off the main road, I saw the bulldozer head towards my house. I made a call to my brother in police. He called the people that were commanding the demolition process. I do not know what he told them, but the bulldozer turned away from my house and it took another direction. This is how I was able to salvage all my property.”

The residents gather around a bonfire every evening to share blissful life-stories in the estate, within the debris. “On Monday, I spent the night around a bonfire with other residents of this village, and on Tuesday I was able to get a house in Kireka, plus transportation of my property,” Mr Abas said.