Kampala Uganda, 29th May, 2023: On the afternoon of Thursday 25th May 2023, landslides buried a house in Bumasugu village, Buluganya Sub-county in Bulambuli District, in the Elgon region. The Equal Opportunities Commission is deeply distressed by this tragic incident that claimed 7 family members including a mother and her children. It is of great concern to the Commission that the victims are among the vulnerable groups of children and women hailing from hard-to-reach areas.
The Equal Opportunities Commission is mandated to give affirmative action in favor of children, women, people disadvantaged by location, ethnic minorities, and several similar groups.
These landslides that affected other hard-to-reach areas such as Buluganya Parish, Masugu, Namakere, Kagulu, and Namagugu villages in Bumasobo Sub-county rendered about 200 people homeless and instantly vulnerable without livelihood of whatever description.
The Equal Opportunities Commission is getting increasingly concerned about the escalating vulnerability levels in the Mt Elgon Region that are triggered by natural disasters. It should be remembered that on 30th July 2022, floods claimed over 30 lives, displaced over 5000 families, and washed away scores and scores of crops and livestock in Mbale City and other districts in the Elgon region.
The Equal Opportunities Commission commiserates with the families of the deceased and prays for those injured and those displaced by this calamity.
Consequently, we call upon the responsible authorities and agencies, especially the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to take immediate affirmative action in favour of all the victims and relocate the survivors to safer locations as soon as practicable.
We also urge the government to take deliberate scientific interventions to improve the environment in the Elgon region and reduce the frequent floods and landslides that have claimed hundreds of lives of unsuspecting citizens.
It is the constitutional duty of the government to preserve the lives of its people. It should where necessary compel the vulnerable inhabitants of the Elgon Region to settle in safer locations away from the unpredictable death traps.
For God and my Country
Hon–Joel Cox Ojuko
Vice Chairperson
Equal Opportunities Commission