This archive report was first published on 5 December 2019.
Published on December 5, 2019, a devastating landslide swept through several villages in eastern Uganda, claiming the lives of at least seven people.
The disaster occurred in Bududa and Sironko districts in the Mt Elgon region near the border with Kenya, following a heavy downpour on Tuesday.
Rescuers, armed with hand hoes, struggled to dig through the debris in search of survivors, but residents fear that more people might have been trapped in the rubble.
David Wafula, a survivor from Namasa Village, expressed his frustration, saying, 'We cannot do much with hand hoes. The government should come in and search for our missing relatives, whom we are sure are buried in the rubble.'
Wafula's sentiments were echoed by Fred Gando, the executive director of Support Transformation Effort Programme, a non-governmental organisation, who blamed the disasters on human activities such as deforestation, degradation of wetlands, and poor farming methods.
Gando also pointed out that corruption hindered the government's ability to direct what was supposed to be done, leading to the encroachment of river banks.
