Crisis: Mbarara City stranded with dead bodies after Losing cemetery land 

There is a crisis in Mbarara City as some entities like police, hospitals and agencies are stranded with dead bodies after lacking a permanent gazetted area where they can put or bury stranded dead bodies.

According to the sources, a few weeks ago, Mbarara City Council failed to protect its Cemetery Land in Court and was taken by a certain group of People who were claiming for the ownership of that Land in Rwobuyenje Mbarara City North Division, Mbarara City.  The City authority was chased out of that Land after court Ruling. As we talk, the City authority has not yet identified any alternative land within the City area where they can bury stranded dead bodies.

In a council meeting that was held on Wednesday this week at Mbarara City Council Hall, there was information raised on the floor of Council that Mbarara Central Police Station is stranded with about six dead bodies somewhere in their premises but they are worried where to bury them. In the presence of the DPC Mbarara Central Police Station, through the Speaker of the Council Bony Tashobya Karutsya raised a concern to his house that he was informed by the DPC that they are stranded with dead Bodies at the station something that requires a lot of attention  by that council to immediately allocate land where all the stranded bodies can be buried.

During the same Council Meeting, Muhammad Byansi, Councilor representing the people of Kakoba Division addressed the same concern indicating that the City Council lost a case in Court over Rwobuyenje Cemetery land. He said that people have always used Rwobuyenje Cemetery land to bury their stranded dead bodies, that some have been using part of Kenkombe dumping site to bury there some dead Bodies, but now since council was chased off Rwobuyenje land,  it’s a crisis for this city.

“I ask this Council that we must consider the issue of cemetery as an emergency in our City, I therefore request this council that we get part of Kenkombe land and we gazette it as a cemetery land so that we can get where to bury the stranded dead bodies” said Byansi.

According to Mayor Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi, he admitted that the truth of the matter is that the Council lost a case in court over Rwobuyenje to a certain indviduals with costs. That the land lacked evidence of the agreement to witness that Mbarara City Council owned this land at Rwobuyenje.

“we have been on this Land and we have been in court for some good time until we have lost the land, one time one of the Town Clerks said it that we were going to lose this case but we had not yet prepared where to put the dead bodies, we said let us keep in so eventually the land has been taken from us, and as we talk we don’t have a cemetery. But at the leveL of the Executive Committee we are also having proposals that we look into some of our lands that we are having here to see if we can have one and we put a cemetery and this time we need to have a cemetery that is organised, may be well fenced, well kept without anyone encroachment on it. So Mr. Speaker, It is an emergency as everyone here is saying” said Kakyebezi.

Kakyebezi says that this Land was stolen through connivance between the grabbers and some staff within Mbarara City Council. That the Council legal Person did not do enough to protect the Council during the legal processes. He further noted that the document of this land were dismissed from the office during the time of former Town Clerk Bashakara

Finally, the Speaker of the Council directed the Town Clerk, Physical Planner, the Mayor and his Executive to move with immediate effect after the Council  meeting and go to all the  Council Lands and identify one that is accommodative for a cemetery. They were given only two days to come up with a clear report and they announce on radios or televisions showing the land where the dead bodies will be buried