By Abubakar Bin Siraji
MBALE
Over 40 people in Bungokho and Busano sub counties in Mbale district have abandoned their homes because of fresh cracks that have manifested on their houses.
The crack has affected more than 500 houses putting the lives of residents in danger.
The cracks that according to residents were triggered by the heavy rains that has pounded the district this year, have left many people homeless as their houses have been swept away by the moving mass. Some of the affected people have sought refuge in the homes of their relatives.
The most affected areas include Kasonko, Lwalera and Lwambogo in Bungokho Sub County, Buzongola and Burukulu in Basano Sub County.
There are elongated cracks that have passed through people’s homes making them to sink in the ground. The cracks are also visible on the roads. Part of the crop gardens and compounds has surged leaving one side higher than the other.
Chris Mafabi Omir, the Bungokho sub county LC 3 Chairperson, says that almost the upper part of his sub county is at risk because of the cracks, saying the cracks have emerged everywhere including roads.
He said many people have left their homes for fear of their lives hastening to add, that the authority has done nothing to manage the situation due to lack of capacity.
Mafabi wants the government to consider relocating the people of Bungokho fast as they are at risk of losing their lives if heavy rains continue pounding the area.
“These people need to be resettled to safer areas because the people in these areas are sitting on a time bomb and the prone area is quite dangerous. Government should find better means of getting the people out of these places to safer zones,” Mafabi said.
The experts feared that the crack was extending towards Bumbobi sub county and moving further to Wanale ridge and northwards towards Mbale city.
Mafabi explains that what is being experienced in Bungokho is a new phenomenon in the district and may cause mayhem, which has greater impact than the landslides in other Bugisu districts.
Residents are worried that the cracks could be a first sign of the devastating landslides that have affected other Mount Elgon region areas like Manafwa, Sironko and Bududa districts.
Karim Muliro, a resident of Busano Sub County says that they are living in fear and that they may lose their lives when the heavy rains still continue.
He says that this issue started some time back in August 2019 and they called for government’s intervention in vain.
The residents want the government to intervene and save them from the disaster, saying that they need to be relocated.
Tonny Wamakale, the Bungokho Sub County LC5 councilor, says they advised people to vacate the affected areas as they await government intervention.
The crack is currently estimated to be measuring over 10 centimeters deep and over 20 kilometers long.
