Two people died in a landslide in Kabbalah

Two people died on Tuesday morning after the house where they were sleeping was hit by a landslide in Rwamacumu village, Kasheregyenyi Parish, Kamuganguzi County, Kabale District.

Three people escaped unscathed after a tragic incident that occurred at 3 a.m., about 3 km from a sand mine in the villages of Nyakyonga and Rukaranga, which also resulted in a collapse and the death of two people in April 2021.

The homeowner, Aggrey Rukundo, identified the deceased as his 17-year-old son, Charles Tayebwa, who was a third-grade student of Buranga Secondary School in Kabale District, while the domestic help was only identified as Bosco.

“There were five people in the house at the time of the incident because I was away on a business trip. My wife informed me about this tragic event by calling me by phone. I built this house about eight years ago and I never expected that the neighboring rock would ever cause me such a great loss. I suspect that a leak from a water pipe that was recently installed on this rock may have caused it to soften and then slide and crush the wall of my house,” Rukundo said.

The investigating officer at Kabale Police Station, Hakim Mukama, said they used a wheel loader and an excavator to clear the debris before taking the bodies to Kabale Hospital for autopsy.

“While we mourn the affected family, we are grateful to the management of Sino Minerals who provided us with a wheel loader and an excavator to help us clear the massive landslide that covered the bodies of the deceased,” Mukama said.

Chairman of LC III in Kamuganguzi District, Elias Twesigomwe, said although landslides are common in the area, especially during the rainy season, they are not as devastating as this particular one.