Landslide survivors return to Bududa after 13 years

Some of the survivors, who were displaced following the 2010 Nametsi landslide in Bududa District, have returned to the area at a time when the rains have intensified.

The disaster, which was triggered by heavy rains, hit several villages in Nametsi Parish in Bundesi Sub-county, leaving about 320 people dead and hundreds displaced.

The Monitor visited the site last week and found several people had started resettling in the area and others were carrying out farming activities.

The only signs of the disaster are the two abandoned excavators that were deployed by the government to exhume bodies and a small wooden cross planted in memory of the victims.

Mr Sam Matsatsa, a survivor, says he inherited the land neighbouring the landslide scar, where he has now settled with his family.

“I was among the people who were relocated to Kiryandongo but later I came back because the conditions were not favourable. I have decided to settle back here because it’s the only land that I have,” he says.

Mr Matsatsa says in 2019, he wanted to be relocated to Bunambutye resettlement camp in Bulambuli but his name was not included on the list of the beneficiaries.

“I had no alternative. I had to find ways of surviving that is why I came back here to settle and till the same land so that I can be able to educate my children,” he says.

The government started the resettlement of landslide victims in Bulambuli in 2019 from mostly the districts of Bududa, Sironko, Bulambuli, Manafwa and Namisindwa.

Close to 300 families, comprising more than 5,000 people, have so far been resettled and each family gets a house on one acre and two acres for farming.

Ms Jenifer Natondo, another survivor, says the area has fertile soils compared to Bulambuli.

“The government should give money so that we can buy land in safer areas within Bududa so that we can be able to use our land for farming,” Ms Natondo says.

Mr Jackson Manana, another resident, says he received a relocation card from the Ministry of Disaster and Preparedness several years ago but he has never been resettled.

“This has prompted us to resettle ourselves back though we still lack essential services because the schools that were closed by the government in 2010 have not been reopened,” he says.

The schools that were closed following the landslide include Nametsi, Tunwatsi and Kitsatsa for fear of further disasters.

The children now have to trek to the nearest primary schools of Bukalasi and Bukibalela, which are more than 10 kilometres away. Due to long distances, many of them do not complete Primary Seven.

Ms Beatrice Nabifo, a resident of Nametsi Village, says Tunwatsi Primary School was the only hope of their children to get education. “Our children now have to walk more than 20 kilometres to school, which is very tiresome to a 7-year-old child,” she says.

Mr Stephen Mutuba, a former pupil of Nametsi Primary School, says he has resorted to selling sugarcane and farming.

“I got tired of walking the long distance each day, especially on rainy days,” Mr Mutuba says.

He says this is the reason the community resolved to start a community nursery and primary school at the former premises of Nametsi Primary School.

Mr Milton Kamoti Wasunguyi, the Bududa District chairperson, says the government’s decision to plant trees after relocation of the survivors was not maintained, something he says has prompted the people to go back to the area.

He says the district leadership cannot bar people from returning to the area because they have genuine reasons.

“They claim that the government relocated them to Kiryandongo where they didn’t get proper services as promised and the land was not fertile,” he says.

Mr John Baptist Nambeshe, the Manjiya County MP in Bududa, who doubles as the chief Opposition whip, says they advised the government to set up resettlement places within Bududa but the officials were adamant.

“Our advice was not considered. They thought I was politicking because they looked at me as the Opposition. Those are results of poor planning,” Mr Nambeshe says.

Mr Bosco Wanyenya, the councillor for Bundesi Sub-county, says the government should consider reopening schools to address school dropouts.

“Now that people have resettled there, the government should consider reopening the schools and also putting up new school blocks,” he says.

Ms Racheal Nabulo Mathar, the Bududa District Vice Chairperson, says there are many school-going children aged between four and 10 but they cannot access school given their vulnerability.

School performance

In the recently released Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results, of 3,170 pupils that Bududa registered, 118 passed with First Grade, 1,197 in second grade, 672 in third grade, 525 in fourth grade and more than 600 failed.

In the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), Bududa registered 897 candidates and 45 passed in first grade, 151 in second grade, 264 in third grade, 373 in fourth grade and 60 failed.

In the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), Bududa registered 184 students and of these, 34 got three principal passes, 73 got two principal passes, 53 got only one principal pass, 23 got only subsidiary passes, and one failed.

Mr David Muwoya, the Bududa District inspector of schools, says some schools in Bududa were closed and premises should not be used by children to study. 

“I did not expect such buildings to be used since the government rendered them condemned,” he says.

However, district chairperson says they have repeatedly written to the Office of the Prime Minister to reopen the schools but they haven’t received a response. 

“We appealed to parents to endure the current situation as they push for the revival of the schools,” Mr Kamoti says.

Bududa has 89 government-aided primary schools and eight secondary schools.

Mr George Owanyi, the Bududa RDC, says the government has finalised relocation plans for those staying in high-risk areas.

“The government is going to give each person Shs17 million to buy land and construct so that they can leave the risky areas,” he says.

On schools, Mr Owanyi says government would not reopen the schools in the high risk areas.

Leaders say

Mr Isaac Modoi, the MP for Lutseshe County, has pledged to table a report in Parliament so that the government can reconsider the people of Nametsi.

The Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, last year while in Bududa during the launch of a programme of cash transfer of funds to the beneficiaries in Bugisu said government was committed to resettling people that were settled in areas more susceptible to disasters.

“The NRM government is committed to ensuring that our people are secured from the disasters of landslides,” she said.