Police bury 52 victims of Kasese clashes

At least 52 bodies of people killed in last weekend's fighting in Kasese District have been buried.

The bodies were buried on Sunday morning at Kihara army barracks, Nyamwamba Division, Kasese Municipality.

Each of the bodies was buried in a separate grave after some families failed to identify relatives from the pile of dead bodies that have been at the mortuary for close to a week.

Local leaders and security officials had on Friday resolved that the unclaimed bodies would be buried in a mass grave at the district headquarters.

However, Kasese Resident District Commissioner, Maj James Mwesigye said that they had received instructions to abandon the earlier plan.

On Saturday, district leaders resolved that the bodies be buried at the barracks, since there is no adequate space at the district headquarters located at Rukoki, five kilometers from Kasese town.

This morning each of the bodies were wrapped in large polythene black bags and put in coffins purchased by the police. They were then transported to the burial site in a convoy of police trucks and district vehicles.

At Kihara, there was restriction to the burial site and the police allowed only the media and relatives. Some of the relatives of those missing wailed as the police placed each body in the grave.

The burial was conducted by the police and Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers. It was witnessed by Kasese District chairperson, Geoffrey Sibendire Bigogo and other local leaders.

Julius Ndungu, who has failed to trace the whereabouts of his brother, Gideon Matte, a royal guard, says that he has no option but accept that he could have died in the palace attack.

Ndungu says that the bodies should have been buried in a public area that can easily be accessed. He adds that since the barracks is a restricted place, they may not be allowed at the site if they want to pray for the victims.