By KT Reporter
A long-standing death trap in Kalagi Trading Centre, Kyampisi Sub-county, Mukono District, may be fixed after a reported intervention by President Yoweri Museveni acting through former State Minister for Water also the former area member of parliament for Mukono North Ronald Kibuule.
The hazardous water trench, which has existed for over 15 years, has been blamed for claiming the lives of two children and injuring several others. It may now get a permanent solution following renewed government attention and technical assessment by Ministry of Works engineers.
The trench, which snakes through a residential area in Kalagi, was formed during the construction of the Gayaza–Kayunga road when workers from the Uganda National Roads Authority -UNRA diverted rainwater runoff into nearby homes. Over time, the small ditch eroded into a gaping gulley — now estimated to be about 25 feet deep in some sections.
Residents say the trench has become a death trap, particularly for children who play near it. Two children, aged two and four years, reportedly drowned there, while several others have sustained broken limbs after falling in — even during dry seasons.
“This trench has eaten our land and destroyed our peace. We have lost children, our houses are collapsing, and the authorities have been ignoring us for years,” lamented LC I Chairperson Sulaiman Musisi Ssalongo, while leading journalists on a tour of the area.
Hope for the community cwas renewed when former Ministe Miniter took their written petition to President Museveni, who directed the Ministry of Works and Transport to design and implement a permanent drainage solution.
Eng. Jacob Asiimwe, a senior engineer from the Ministry of Works and Transport, revealed that about Shs 600 million has been earmarked for the initial phase of the project.
“We need to create a wider access route for the heavy equipment to reach the trench,” Asiimwe explained. “The plan is to trap and channel all runoff water safely, while also protecting nearby homes and preventing future accidents.”
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