Mukura moves on from  1989 massacre shadow

As  you descend from the border of Kumi and Ngora towards Morukakise junction, one is able to clearly see the changing state of Mukura, which has steadily crawled past the 1989 massacre to a town council.
Until early 2000, Mukura had seemingly remained silent in terms of development. All it had were the rusty corrugated structures built before the 1989 Mukura railway station wagon incident, which left 69 dead.

READ: When will the Luweero truth be told in full?

Today, modern guest houses, homesteads, commercial hardware points and the local women going about their errands at the roadside are testimonies enough to explain how the 1989 village has moved past its sad memories to now championing its own development.
Within a radius of one kilometre, Mukura today prides itself on three private secondary schools. Besides, the government supported Mukura Memorial Secondary School, and state of art fuel station where clients as far as Soroti Town visit for wheel alignment, a service that is limited in this town.

Mukura Memorial Secondary School was built in honour of the lives that were ended in Mukura Railway Station Wagon suffocation during the National Resistance Army (NRA) bush war.
The victims were suspected to be either Uganda People’s Army (UPA) rebels or UPA collaborators.

Interestingly, the development on the rise here is being championed by natives, who during the preceding years after 1989, had fled the country as a result of the turmoil back in Teso. However, with the prevailing peace, these people have returned to invest in guest houses, schools and other businesses.

Mr William Okello, the LC1 secretary for Mukura Ward in Mukura Town Council, also a survivor of the 1989 Mukura Wag-on Massacre, told this publication last week that the investment into schools by the natives who had fled the chaotic times back in Mukura and Teso as a whole has boosted business.
He reasoned that there is a population increase, which has acted as a boost to the small business being run.

“The presence of school going children has created a need for hostels and demand for stationary and food. It is the reason we have kiosks mushrooming up,” he said.

Mr Okello added that there are about six guest houses with spaces going from Shs30,000 to as much as Shs70,000 per night, while others are offering a service for as less as Shs20,000 per night.
“Within this town council, we have a modern private hospital worth a billion shilling being built by native medical practitioners based abroad. That means the economic opportunities available in Mukura are good enough to attract investment returns,” he said.

Ms Jennifer Isuka, a resident in Mukura Town Council and a proprietor of a retail shop, told this publication that the only pressing issue currently at hand in Mukura Town Council is the element of theft of livestock, and the lack of piped water.
Mukura attained town council status four years ago. By implication, the use and construction of boreholes is being phased out in favour of piped water.

Ms Isuka said the pressure on the few boreholes within the students’ community has increased and at times caused over-crowding.
“Because of the heightened theft of livestock, a vigilante team was recently recruited to patrol in the night. These individuals watch over suspicious movements of suspected thieves,” she added.
Ms Isuka said a fortnight ago, a man who was got during dawn with stolen sheep was lynched and his motorbike set ablaze.

The chairperson for Mukura Town Council, Mr David Okello Opolot, said as much as the development is being appreciated by everyone, the town council, has no development masterplan to guide a structure development.
He added that he and his town clerk have brought this matter to the attention of the Ministry of Local Government but that support is yet to be delivered.

“We need more than Shs100m to have a masterplan for our town to avoid cases of developers constructing buildings randomly. However, we are failing to raise that money because our revenue base is still low as people are still transitioning from the effects of war,” Mr Opolot said.
He added that the piped water project that was started two years ago has since stalled. 
 
Mr Opolot said they were meant to have been connected to the national water line from Ngora Town but that development is yet to be fulfilled.
“Power rationing is also a big problem yet we are now moving into small processing and value addition,” he said. 
Ms Betty Asio, a retired teacher, said the government is also to thank for the strides that Mukura is slowly registering. 
She added that the construction of Mukura Memorial Secondary School has its own economic benefits.

“Besides the school, we also have a museum built in memory of the deceased persons. This is like a tourist attraction for people who want to learn about Teso’s chaotic past,” Ms Asio added.
She said through the Ministry of Teso Affairs, the victims of the 1989 incident received compensation and iron sheets, which some locals used to put up permanent structures.