Kampala: The Headmaster of Lohana Academy has blamed Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for delaying to permit the School to demolish the wall along Old Kampala Road, which collapsed on Monday morning killing six street children, leaving two severely injured.
Mutebi John Bosco, the head teacher, revealed this on while addressing journalists at the scene. Mutebi said that the school had sealed off the wall and warned motorists against parking nearby because the wall had developed cracks. “We wrote to KCCA about our plans to demolish that wall so that we could erect a new one but they did not give us feedback. We were still waiting for clearance until it finally collapsed. We can’t therefore be held responsible,” he said.
He further tasked KCCA’s directorate of physical planning to always ensure responsiveness in case someone wants to develop their land or renovate their property. KCCA, through its directorate of physical planning, is mandated to regulate development across the city among which is issuance of development permits. When asked about Mutebi’s claim, the KCCA physical planner Villey Agaba, said that KCCA was planning to demolish the wall. Agaba attributed the collapse of the wall to heavy rains. “We have now decided to demolish the entire boundary wall for fear of reoccurrence of the same tragedy because it has since outlived its usefulness,” he told the press on Monday. Asked about why the city still has old structures, Agaba said they have since earmarked old buildings for demolition. He, however, implored members of the public to always alert authorities in case they identify any old structure.
Deputy Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said that the wall collapsed during a heavy downpour at 2:00AM, killing six street children on spot. Two others are currently hospitalized in Mulago Hospital. The deceased were street children sleeping in a trench at the time of the incident. Owoyesigyire said that “The children were resting in a channel adjacent to the school. The Police rescue team is still clearing debris to ascertain the exact number of children that were covered by the wall.”
He added that they were working with KCCA to prepare for their burial identifying the deceased as; Frank Ojula, Brian Ogwal, Bonny Omara, Richard Odong, Ivan (other name not known) and one unidentified child of Kenyan nationality. The injured are Kennedy Okello and the other identified as only Okello. The misfortune is one of many in which at least 15 people have been killed by collapsing walls in a space of two months.
Out of nine people, who died last week, seven were from Seguku while two were in Namasuba in Wakiso. The other two died from Namirembe Guest House in Rubaga Division when the roof of the guesthouse collapsed.
