Mbarara seeks Shs6b to tackle rural water crisis
A resident draws water from a dam for domestic use in Kaguhanzya, Rubaya Sub-county, Mbarara District on May 23, 2025. PHOTO/COSLINE NAKAYIIRA
What you need to know:
- Water crisis deepens in rural Mbarara.
Women risk sexual assault, children skip school, and communities battle disease in Mbarara District’s daily struggle to access water, often dirty and shared with animals.
Residents in rural sub-counties say they walk long distances for water, frequently from unprotected sources like dams and ponds. Some have endured violence, including rape, while trying to fetch it.
“We always queue at dams for water. We share with animals, but during droughts, the dams dry up. Then we walk long distances. That’s when some of us women and our daughters get sexually abused,” said Monica Kitetirweho, of Nyakibungo Village in Rubaya Sub-county.
Lucky Natukunda, from Rwenshanku in Bubaare, told Monitor that she narrowly escaped sexual assault while fetching water.
“My children were being harassed at the dam, so I started going instead. Twice I’ve been targeted by men trying to rape me. You have to go very early to get space at the dam,” she said on Friday.
Teopista Kirabo said her cousin was raped in January while heading to a dam 10 kilometres away in Rubaya. “Even when we manage to get the water, it’s dirty and unsafe,” she noted.
The water crisis also hits schools hard. Mackline Atuhwera, a teacher at Rwabugondo Primary School, said many pupils arrive late after fetching water in the morning — often from unsafe sources.
“Most of our children are always sick from waterborne diseases like diarrhoea and malaria,” she remarked. She added: “The borehole we have cannot serve the entire population.”
The elderly are not spared. Frank Kanyesigye, 60, said he walks over a mile to reach a dam. “I struggle with young people just to get a jerrycan of water,” he said. “We need water sources nearer to our homes.”
Simon Twashaba, councillor of Nyabisirira Town Council, said schools and hospitals are especially vulnerable. “It’s a big challenge. The disease burden is high, and we lack the funding to provide clean water,” he said.
District Chairperson Didas Tabaro said water scarcity hinders socio-economic development. “Residents are constantly ill and can't engage in farming, our main economic activity,” he said. “Without water, there can be no transformation.”
District Water Officer Joseph Mucunguzi said only 322 out of 534 villages have access to safe water.
“Nearly half the population shares water sources with animals,” he said. “We urgently need Shs6 billion to improve coverage. Without intervention, communities remain vulnerable to outbreaks like cholera.”
A 2023 report by the Ministry of Water and Environment showed that 33 percent of rural households in Uganda still lack access to safe and clean water.
