Police stuck as body of man remains in 200-feet deep pit for nearly three weeks

Residents of Nkalwe Village in Kkingo Sub-County, Lwengo District have asked the government to swiftly deploy more powerful equipment to aid the retrieval of the body of a man who was trapped inside a deep well nearly three weeks ago.
 
Ben Jjuuko, a 27-year-old resident of Kkingo Trading Centre is believed to have suffocated to death in a 200 –feet deep pit nearly three weeks ago.
 
Jjuuko’s uncle, Mr Anthony Tamale said he visited his mother on February 4. Days after JJjuko returned to Kkingo Trading Centre where he resided rumours of his disappearance started circulating in the area.
 
“We went to his neighbours who revealed that he left his house with some equipment he uses to dig pits. We proceeded to Masaka Central Police Station to file a case of a missing person and to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital mortuary to check whether his body could be there in vain,” Mr Tamale told this publication on Friday.
 
Later, Mr Tamale said they received information that there was someone who died in a shadoof well under construction at Kkingo Parents Primary School in Kimaanya- Kabonera Division.
 
“As we have been aware that his work was to dig such deep wells and repair them, we believed he could be the one. We went to Kyabakuza Police Station where we were referred to the regional police office which was handling the case,” he noted.

 
According to Ms Caroline Nakalema, the sister to the deceased, what is currently needed is to have Jjuko’s body retrieved and accorded a decent burial.
 
“We’re here to ask the police to play its role in ensuring that we get the body out of the pit but we’re still confused on why the school’s administration is dodging us and trying to conceal the information! Is there any hidden motive? Let the capacity of Police Fire Brigade team on ground be enhanced to accomplish this task,” she said. 
 
Monitor has learnt that efforts by some policemen from Masaka Central Police Station who were deployed to retrieve the body had not yielded any positive outcome by Friday morning. 
Some officers are said to have sustained severe injuries in the process of trying to retrieve the body and are currently admitted at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital.

Another rescue team from the Directorate of Fire Prevention and Rescue Services in Masaka tried to retrieve the body using an excavator, but by Friday morning they had not yet seen the body.
On Tuesday, the southern regional criminal investigation department held a closed-door meeting between the family of the deceased and the school proprietor, Mr Robert Asiimwe in which the latter committed himself to facilitate the process of retrieving the body.
 
Mr Twaha Kasirye, the southern regional police spokesperson said their team is still on the ground to ensure that the body is retrieved. 
 
“We’re beefing up the capacity in terms of machinery and expertise and we hope to finish this task as soon as possible,” he said.
 
The Resident City Commissioner for Masaka City, Mr Hudu Hussein revealed that they are already in touch with Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) Masaka station for more advanced machinery to facilitate the retrieval of the body.
 
“This has now become a serious security matter, given the time since the incident occurred. We need to gear up the efforts,” he noted.