The Kasese river that got angry

Many people in Kasese have lost their homes and livelihoods because of the river that burst its banks. But some of these very people are to blame as they tampered with the river’s banks.

“Those who did not want to the see the valley dams, did not see them.” During the infamous valley dams’ scandal, it was alleged that that statement was Dr Specioza Kazibwe’s observation about some parliamentarians who were seeing plain land instead of the valley dams that she was showing them.

A slightly similar situation occurred when Peter Bwambale, who was residing in the currently razed nurses’ quarters, adjacent to Kilembe Mines Hospital, offered to show me his house that was destroyed by the floods.

“That is where my bedroom was [he points at a rock in the middle of flowing water]. That is where my veranda was [he points at a spot in the flowing water], where my children would play from.” But Bwambale’s house is not visible. It was completely swept away by the water. Not even remnants of its foundation can be seen.
He narrates that when it rained, he did not expect the river to flood to the extent of bursting its banks.

“I thought that they were the usual sporadic floods which tend to have negligible effects, so I simply locked the house and walked to the community centre which is a few metres away. I did not carry anything from the house because I was sure that after it had stopped raining, I would be back. That turned out to be the last time I set foot out of my house. I lost Shs2.8m in cash, a car logbook, my academic documents and wife’s, as well as several household items.
“So, my brother, as I speak, my sole possessions are what you are seeing with me. I am now preparing to go the village in Bwera to stay with my parents as I try rebuilding myself.”

Whereas Bwambale has opted to leave Kilembe, Patrick Kabale says he is not going anywhere. “The first time the floods hit, they unroofed my house. With nowhere to go, I moved in with my friend whose house had not been affected like my own. When the river flooded for the second time, on Sunday, we were asked to leave and cross the bridge before it collapsed, since it was showing signs of doing so.

I crossed with my friend. He told me that he was going to stay with his relatives in Kasese town. Unfortunately I do not know any other person around and I do not have any money on me to go to my relatives outside Kasese. We were promised free transport to town, but I have not seen the cars since they took the first group of people. Therefore, I am going to sleep on one of the verandahs of the shops around. Whatever we did to this river, someone should tell it to have mercy on us,” states Kabale.

The river between
River Nyamwamba has its source in the Rwenzori Mountains. It flows through Kilembe valley, Kasese Municipality, Queen Elizabeth National Park and pours its waters into Lake Edward. People living along the river say that it is of great importance to them in terms of providing water for irrigation, building, domestic use as well as influencing the climate in the area. They say that the river usually overflows during the rainy season but the floods that have happened this time round have been unprecedented. But is that really the case?

Amos Mfiti Basaze, a former General Manager of Kilembe Mines and a geologist, who started working with the mines in the 60s, says that for over the 45 years that he has known the river, he has never seen it swell so much and bring about massive destruction like it has done recently.

“However, in 1964, it broke its banks and destroyed some property like the police housing units, and it flowed in the mines’ hospital. It flooded again in the 80s. Nevertheless the destruction that it caused was not as massive as it has caused this time round. Imagine a commercial building being cleared by water! I’d never seen this, really,” says Basaze adding that, “the previous cases of the overflowing of the river were solely caused by the tampering with the river’s course, by debris.”

Although Basaze is sure of the cause of the previous deluging of the river, he says he is not sure of what would have caused the recent one. Many theories about the cause of the flooding have been brought forward. Some claim that that water might have overflown from the aquifers beneath the mines, others claim that the river had not been sacrificed to, over a long period of time. Nonetheless, one theory that majority of the people talked to – the geologist inclusive – subscribe to, is at the top of the Mount Rwenzori, where the source of the lake is. They say it shone on the glaciers which in turn melted and the resultant water flowed into the craters. When the crater lakes overflowed with water, it gushed into the river. The water flowed down the Kilembe valley with immense speed and volume, where it found a lot of debris in its course.

Unable to contain the obstruction in flow, the river consequently burst its banks, and started flowing throwing people’s houses and gardens, destroying them.

With the destruction of gardens, one of the challenges people in Kasese face is hunger, at least, according to Erias Ssalongo, a farmer who lost his garden of beans, groundnuts, cabbage and sugarcane.
Ssalongo’s garden was his source of food as well as income. “Now, I’m looking forward to the foodstuffs that I heard that the Red Cross is going to offer us,” he laments. Aside from farmers, school-going children have also been affected.

Pupils of Bulembia Model Primary School had some of their classroom blocks destroyed and their reading materials drenched. Also, some sewer systems were broken and the sewage flowed into the river. So there could be an outbreak of diseases such as cholera. Some businesses in Kasese town which had Kilembe as their main market have come to a standstill since most of the people are deserting the area.

To minimise the suffering of the affected people, Kasese’s Mayor, Godfrey Kabyanga, says they have received aid from the Office of the Prime Minister and a number of organisations such as the Red Cross, The World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund and UPDF. The relief is in form of beddings, medicine, cooking oil, tents, mosquito nets, and jerrycans, among others.

rkasasira@ug.nationmedia.com