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Five Kasese schools closed as

River Nyamwamba bursts
banks
Friday, June 23, 2023

A section of the road that was damaged by the water from River Nyamwamba in Kasese District on June 22, 2023.
PHOTOS/YOWERI KAGUTA.

By Jerome Kule Bitswande

What you need to know:

Mr Richard Bomera, the chairperson Bulembia Division, has

emphasised the need to expedite the desilting of river
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Nyamwamba and also construct strong gabions that can arrest
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the waters when the river attempts to ood.
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Kilembe division, Kasese municipality, Kasese
policy Ok
District in western Uganda were on Thursday closed temporarily
and learners sent home after River Nyamwamba burst its banks.

The affected schools are Mt Rwenzori Girls Secondary School,

Bulembia Primary School, Katiri Primary School, Roadbarrier
Primary School and Kyanzuki Primary School.

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All the affected schools are located within the Nyamwamba Valley
which has previously suffered the devastating effects of over owing
River Nyamwamba.
Mr Boosi Serapio, the head teacher of Road Barrier Primary said
they were compelled to ask pupils to stay home because the school
is located just a few metres away from the river.
“From experience, we know that whenever the river oods, it
normally crosses and sometimes surrounds the whole school. We
have asked pupils to go home until the water volume returns to
normalcy,” Mr Boosi said.

A section of the road that was damaged by the water from River Nyamwamba in Kasese District on June 22, 2023.
PHOTOS/YOWERI KAGUTA.

Boosi revealed that the government recently constructed some

gabions along a stretch close to the school but they are too short to
block the water.
According to him, the government needs to desilt the river so that it
has enough bed to ood over without having to burst its banks.
“I am asking the government to desilt this river, otherwise it poses a
threat to the lives of the learners given that the school is too close to
the river,” he added.
Ms Caroline Ebyau, the head teacher Mt Rwenzori Girls Secondary
School said they decided to send the learners back home as a
precautionary measure.

“We know the havoc that river can cause when it oods,” she said.
There are at least 28 boarders at the school, she said.

“The girls are not scared, but of course I can see it is raining so I
don’t know what the night might be like. However, I am in school
and together with the askari [security guard] if we think the security
is getting worse, we will need to go to a higher ground,” she said
Thursday.
The ooding river also swept away some gabions near the bridge
connecting Rukoki to Kasese town.
River Mubuku also burst its banks sweeping away the temporary
foot-bridges along that river.
Ms Mary Kyakimwa, a resident of Kisanga A says they are now
living in fear following the ooding of the river.
“For now it has not entered our houses. We are also lucky that this
has happened during the day, otherwise if it had happened at night,
I don’t know where we would be,” said Kyakimwa.
Mr Richard Bomera, the chairperson Bulembia Division, has
emphasised the need to expedite the desilting of river Nyamwamba
and also construct strong gabions that can arrest the waters when
the river attempts to ood.
“The only good thing is that the current premises of Kilembe Mines
Hospital have not been affected, otherwise we decided that the
schools close as a precautionary measure,” Mr Bomera said.

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