KASESE- More than 100 households in the villages of Katadoba and Kiharimu Kyaminyoku, located in the Central Division of Kasese Municipality, are living in a state of constant fear as a rapidly expanding gully threatens to swallow their homes and property.
What began as a small erosion channel has transformed into a massive drainage channel, leaving residents vulnerable to both natural disasters and rising insecurity.
The expansion of the gully has reached a critical point, with several houses situated along its banks now on the verge of collapsing. Residents report that every rainfall further destabilizes the ground, bringing the edges of the channel closer to their doorsteps.
Beyond the physical threat to infrastructure, the gully has evolved into a significant security risk. Local community members noted that the depth and overgrowth within the channel provide a perfect hiding spot for thieves and other criminals, who use the gully to evade detection after committing crimes in the surrounding areas.
The divide created by the gully has also severed safe transport links between Katadoba and Kiharimu Kyaminyoku. Currently, residents are forced to rely on makeshift wooden bridges to cross to either side. These structures are reportedly weak, unstable, and prone to collapsing at any moment, posing a deadly risk to pedestrians, particularly children, the elderly and bodboda riders.
Kiiza Wilson LC 1 Katadoba village has intensified his calls to the central government to expedite the construction of a permanent drainage system to mitigate the life-threatening situation.
Responding to these concerns, the Deputy Town Clerk of Kasese Municipality, Kambasu Zedekia Kairi, confirmed that the authorities are aware of the crisis. He indicated that the gully has been officially identified for intervention and is slated for construction under the Uganda Support to Cities and Municipal Infrastructure Development (UCMID) program phase II in July this year.
As parts of Kasese continue to experience significant rainfall, the Chairman of the District Disaster Management Committee, Mustafa Kikusa, has urged residents to remain alert. He called for heightened disaster preparedness and vigilance, warning that the current weather patterns could cause the fragility of the soil around the gullIies and rivers across the district.
For now, the residents of Katadoba and Kiharimu Kyaminyoku remain in a race against time, hoping that the promised government intervention arrives before the next major erosion and expansion of this gully.
