At least five schools in Kilembe division, Kasese district, have been temporarily closed after the Nyamwamba river burst its banks again after a heavy, deep pour on Wednesday.
The closed schools are Mt. Rwenzori Girls Secondary School, Katiri Primary School, Bulemia Primary School, Road Barrier Primary School, and Kyanzuki Primary School. All these schools are located within the Nyamwamba Valley area, which had previously suffered the effects of the flooring river.
According to Boosi Serapio, the headteacher of Road Barrier Primary School, they were forced to close the school because it is located a few meters away from the river.
“From experience, we know that whenever the river floors, it normally crosses and sometimes surrounds the whole school. We have asked the pupils to go home until the water volume returns to normal,” he said.
Serapio further disclosed that although the government recently built gabions near the school, they are not long enough to stop the water from entering.
He believes the authorities should de-silt the river bed so that it can flood without bursting its banks.
The government is calling upon people who are living in the low catchment areas of the Nyawmamba River to vacate and move to safe places.
In April of this year, the river broke its banks as a result of a four-hour downpour that was so intense that one person lost their life. Crops and other properties were destroyed by the flood.