By Denis Turyahebwa
President Museveni on his twitter handle said he received the sad news of landslides wreaking havoc in Bududa district killings and added that the Government had dispatched rescue teams to the affected areas.
Museveni also urged the residents to cooperate with the authorities to mitigate possible further danger.
President Museveni is currently in United Kingdom where he addressed the London conference on illegal wildlife trade on Thursday.
Meanwhile the Police deputy spokesperson, SP Patrick Onyango said a yet to be identified number of bodies had been recovered but said that the death toll is likely to rise.
“The rain is still raining and more bodies are being searched for. We have dispatched a team to make an assessment and understand what equipment will be needed for the search and rescue operation,” Onyango said.
It should be noted that this is not the first time Bududa district is being affected by landslides. In 2010, landslides in the district killed hundreds of people and many were displaced.
Bududa is located in the mountainous region of the eastern part of the rift valley which makes it inevitable to experience these catastrophic disasters.
According to the Government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo, the Government passed an early warning before the tragedy but residents turned deaf ears.
“People were warned some left, others refused because they wanted to stay near the graveyards of their ancestors”. Opondo said.
He went on to urge the survivors to relocate to avoid losing lives since the rain is anticipated to continue flooding for more days.
