18 families are stranded in Rukiiri Sub County after the authorities in Ibanda district ordered them to leave their homes immediately. Kajwengye, the district boss, insists that the families should go and live with their relatives since both the disaster ministry and the district have no money to resettle them to a safer place.
18 families are stranded in Rukiiri sub-county after the authorities in Ibanda district ordered them to leave their homes immediately.
The families are part of the people who have been living adjacent to Njembe 1 and 2 hills in Rukiri Sub County where a huge crack measuring 3 miles was discovered.
The crack, discovered by locals in June 2012, has since caused panic among the local leaders fearing a possible landslide similar to what happened in Bududa and Bulambuli districts.
Nabasa Herbert, an environmentalist working with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), says the type of crack which has developed on Njembe 1 and 2 hills is as result of pressure caused by a raising volume of water both underground and on top.
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Officials from the Prime Minister’s office who recently visited the hills released a report about their findings instructing Ibanda district authorities to move all the people living there immediately.
On Thursday Merekyeyadesi Kajwengye, the district boss, together with members of security and environmentalists moved to the area to enforce eviction of residents from the area now prone to landslides.
Without providing alternative land to settle on, the residents were ordered to pack their belongings and leave the hills immediately.
Kajwengye insists that the families should go and live with their relatives since both the disaster ministry and the district have no money to resettle them to a safer place.
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But the displaced residents are bitter with the government for forcing them to leave their gardens, homes and land without providing them an alternative resettlement area.
Innocent Mugabe, one of the affected residents, says the government is inconsiderate to evict them from their ancestral land without providing for them not just where to stay, but also food.
