Kasese Son Nearly Kills Own Mother
Masereka Raymon of Kasambya parish in Kasese, nearly killed his mother yesterday afternoon when he hit her on the forehead with the family pestle – the stick used for pounding grains.
Surprisingly, the fight resulted from a disagreement the young man had with his sister over a pair of slippers. In short order, it escalated to life threatening status. At one point, Masereka is reported have been brandishing a hoe, baying for the blood of all the family members. It took a group of neighbours to apprehend and drag him to local police station.
Residents suspect that Masereka might be insane.
Wrong Weather Advice from Gov’t May Cost Kasese Farmers
News-Hapa contributor, Tadeo Sentamu of Kasese district reports that farmers in the district are fearful that they are going to lose considerable amounts of useful seeds after they followed inaccurate weather predictions from the Uganda Department of Meteorological (UDOM)
UDOM reportedly advised farmers that the rains were to start in late June and prompted those in cold areas to plant their gardens in anticipation. Some farmers in the area indeed went ahead and planted their gardens given that Kasese is a cold place. “But now it is three days [to the end of June] without a drop of rain,” Tadeo exclaims. Farmers who followed the meteorological departments advice are there fearful that they have lost the seeds they planted.
The farmers receive this kind of UDOM meterological advice through the phones of their Community Knowledge Workers who are supported by Grameen Foundation.
A plea to the president regarding Bunyoro roads
Justus Bagambe of Masindi sends this plea to president Museveni through News-Hapa. “Bunyoro roads are the worst. Please our president think about us because we are Ugandans. Thank you.”
Theft in Pawel, Amuru
An unknown number of thieves last night broke into a small kiosk which belongs to Kidega K Ronald of Pawel, Lalem trading centre in Atiak, Amuru and took merchandise work hundreds of thousands of shillings. Reports Denis Akena a resident of the area.
Akena tells News-Hapa that cases of breaking into people’s homes are now common in the area. On suspect was arrested from this incident but he escaped from the custody of the LC secretary.
Two Kasese villages create own road – colonial style
If you had an evident problem but sat around doing nothing to alleviate it, an elderly Muganda might look at you quizzically as ask, “Olinda Bidde?” That is; are you waiting for bells to go off before you can attend to your own problem? Two villages in Kasese are certainly not waiting for those proverbial bells. They took up hoes and other hand implements and created a two kilometre road to connect them to the rest of the world.
Kyabarungira 1 and Kaghofwe B villages, previously hand no access to their own subcounty headquarters. The new road will now connect the two villages to the rest of the local road network which leads the Kyabarungira sub county head quarter. This road works took the community two weeks of manual labour.
This report was submitted to News-Hapa by the proud LC2 chairperson of the area, Nickson Bwambale.
This approach to establishing local roads is reminiscent to the colonial days when residents were required to personally participating in establishing and maintaining roads within their communities. During that period, local contest were even won and awards given to families whose stretches of road were best maintained.
Kapchorwa police holds two girls for being defiled
Two girls, one 15 years old and the other 14 are reportedly being held at Kapchorwa police stations following complaint by their parents that they engaged in sexual intercourse with two adult men. Both adult men have in the past been suspected of involvement in gang rape.
According a report to News-Hapa by Micheal Musobo, the girls were yesterday taken the two men identified as Siya Nasif and Siya Abdul to St. Mary’s School Kaptanya and all four persons spent the night in one of the school’s classrooms. The men are at large and police is holding the girls reportedly to help it in apprehending the men but also to appease their parents who wanted them punished for their role in whatever happened in the night. The suspects are also married men and their wives are among the group that wants the girls punished with detention at police.
Musobo reports that the two male suspects were last year apprehended along with a group of 14 others for gang raping women in the area.
The Gods Might Be Deaf. Still No Rains in Amuru
Last week, News-Hapa reported that in the face of the current drought, elders in Amuru had turned to traditional rituals beseeching the gods to send rains. Now, Richard Okiya Law, a resident of the areas reports to us that, “the drought still persists despite of community’s traditional rituals in search of rain in the past couple of weeks.” He goes on to say, “early planted crops are drying. People who use small streams as their source of drinking water are in a crisis.”
Unknown Oily Liquid from a NUDEIL borehole
A newly constructed borehole in pawatomero parish, purongo sub county of Nwoya District is reportedly producing an oily substance which settles on the water about 30 minutes after it has been produced from the borehole. The oily water also reportedly leaves a sweet taste on one’s lips when one drinks it. Collins Opiyo, a resident of the area who submitted this report to News-Hapa says that the subcounty chief and other district officials have visited the borehole to verify resident reports on the anomaly but haven’t advised on what the oily suspense is or how the community should react to it.
The borehole was dug Royal Techno Ltd under NUDEIL, a USAID program that touts itself as a “centerpiece of the United States Government’s efforts to support the transition to peace in northern Uganda … through rehabilitation of public infrastructure.”
UGX510,000 hospital bill overwhelms Kasese family
The family of Eryeza Ngyimah resident in Ntunga village, Buhuhira parish, in Kasese district, has failed to continue seeking medical attention to for their very sick baby boy having spent shs 510,000 in the past month.
Tadeo Sentamu, a News-Hapa contributor, met the family in Kithoma town council and learnt that the shs510,000 had completely wiped out the family resources so much that they now can’t even afford to transport the boy to a free government facility for further treatment.
Drought in Amuru Turns Locals against Road Contractor
To the government back in Kampala, a Chinese contractor is doing a good thing – building the most direct road between Uganda and one of its major markets, South Sudan. To the locals in the area of construction, those foreign people must have something to do with the drought that is currently scorching the land.
According to a report by Denis Akena from Amuru, residents of Pawel and other areas along the Gulu – Atiak – Nimule road are starting to accuse CHICO, the Chinese construction company building the road of bewitching the rains since it would slow down their construction work.
Earlier reports to News-Hapa, indicated that the Gulu and Amuru districts have not seen rain since May 16th and this has led to the wilting of crops in the gardens. As a result, farmers are fearing hunger in the coming months.
News-Hapa 