Migration. A man walks with his family to the village on Jinja Road on Sunday. The lockdown and curfew imposed by government has triggered mass exodus of people from towns to rural areas. PHOTO BY ERIC DOMINIC BUKENYA
The lockdown and curfew imposed by government to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic has triggered mass exodus of people from towns to rural areas.
This comes after President Museveni on April 1, ordered the closure of shopping malls, arcades, hardware shops, lodges, salons, none food stores, garages, and put a night curfew for 14 days as part of the measures against Covid-19.
The President has also suspended public and private transport, including movements in and out of country for 32 days, among other stringent measures.
The vulnerable urban dwellers, who are mainly unsalaried workers depending on daily wages to buy food have been making desperate journeys to their rural homes, with hope that they will return when things normalise.
Mr Henry Manana, a 45-year-old businessman, operating a salon in Mbale Central Market, at the weekend said he forced his family members to walk about 30 kilometres from Mbale Town to Busiita village in Sironko District after he run short of money and food.
“I told my wife and children to go back to the village because I know in the village, they can have what to eat, even if it is little,” he said.
It is evident there is unprecedented influx of town dwellers to the distant rural villages because a walk in the suburbs of Mbale, Tororo, Jinja, Lira districts, among other towns, showed few people engaging in business that were not banned.
Mr Paul Muniola, a resident of Kiteso Cell in Mbale Town, who is also a landlord in the area said most of his tenants went to their villages.
“Most of my tenants are low-income earners. They cannot afford to pay rent and sustain themselves when they are not working,” he said. He said towns have become lifeless. “There is no partying any more. No drinking. We do not even move around. We are living in fear,” Mr Muniola added.
Survival tactics
Daily Monitor has also learnt the locals are paying exorbitant fees to boda boda riders to sneak them out of towns. Mr James Mudabo, a boda boda rider, said they are risking their lives to sustain their families.
“We are not allowed to carry passengers now but if you want me to risk, then you have to pay well and I take you to your village,” he said.
In Tororo, Mr Mathias Okongo, a resident of Chawolo Village in Mulanda Sub-county in Tororo District, said he decided to return home from Kampala. “I boarded a cargo truck, which brought me up to Bugiri Town and I started footing from there up to home,” he said, while pointing at his swollen feet.
The Budama South MP, Mr Jacob Oboth Oboth, said when residents travel to their villages, it is a sign of respecting the Presidential directives. “I am happy people have shunned congested places, especially in urban areas,” he said.
In Dokolo District, people are trekking more than 300 kilometres from different parts of the country to get to their homes.
Among them is Ronald Okii, Oscar Ayo and Ambrose Agonga. They decided to walk home from their workplace in Nakawa Division, Kampala, after it was closed last week.
The trio have been working as carpenters with a construction company. When government announced a 14-day total lockdown to stop the further spread of coronavirus, they decided to go home on foot.
“We starved throughout the journey because we did not have enough cash on us,” Mr Agonga said on Saturday, adding: “We have already reached Amolatar and by Sunday (yesterday), we should be home.”
Mr Okii said: “We slept on people’s verandas because we knew nobody on Kampala-Nakasongola highway.”
In Lira Town, Mr Patrick Opio, a resident of Wigweng Village in Ojwina Division, said the lockdown has affected his livelihood since he can no longer afford to support his family.
In Amuru District, many people have abandoned the trading centres.
“I have been selling non-essential goods and when they stopped us from transacting any business, I opted to engage in farming,’’ Ms Alice Amuge Akello said.
The chairperson of Amuru District, Mr Michael Lakony, said many urban dwellers have returned to the village. “I have asked locals to have their ears on the ground and report any suspicious case of Covid-19,’’ he said.
In Gulu District, accessing different villages is not easy. “Roadblocks have been put on major roads to check who is entering a particular sub-county and you are tasked to explain where you are coming from,’’ Mr Andrew Lakwonyero, a resident of Palaro Sub-county, said.
Registration
In Buikwe District, the chairperson of Bukaya West, Mr Jimmy Okee, said he has not registered any returnee. “The village security committee has urged everybody to report any returnee to his office,” he said.
The chairperson of Bukaya East Village, Njeru Municipality, Mr Ernest Ssenyonjo, urged the community to deny any visitors entry into their homes. “Government is currently looking for people who have come into contact with Covid-19 patients and want to hide among our community,” he said.
However, many returnees in different districts told Daily Monitor that they returned to their villages to seek refuge and not to spread the disease.
Mr Waiswa Mukooli, who walked from Jinja Town to Itonko Village in Namutumba North Ward, said coping in cities has become risky and expensive.
“In village, there is free food, shelter and freedom to move, unlike in towns where people are locked up indoors. Much as a curfew is on, people in villages visit their neighbours during day and some even move past the 7:00pm curfew time,” he said.
Different chairpersons in Namutumba have also embarked on a campaign of putting returnees on an indoor quarantine. The chairperson of Kigalama Village, Mr Peter Mutaka, said about 20 returnees have been put under quarantine after walking from Kampala.
“What I have done is to isolate these people for 14 days as we monitor them. We have also asked their family members not to associate with them until the14 days have elapsed, after which we will take them for a coronavirus test,” he said.
In Mbarara District, Ms Peninah Muhairwe, said: “My journey from Mbarara Town to my village started at around 5.am on Tuesday (March 31), from Biafra Cell in Kamukuzi Division. I reached home at 11.am. My husband travelled in a cargo vehicle,” she said.
In Fort Portal District, Mr Baguma Diploma, a taxi driver, said: “I had to move on a truck carrying goods up to Biiso, where I started to walk on foot for more than 10 kilometre until a motorcycle was sent from home to pick me,” he said.
Compiled by Fred Wambede, Cissy Makumbi , Joseph Omollo, Bill Oketch, Robert Owot, Denis Edema, Philip Wafula & Ronald Seebe, Charity Akullo and Patrick Ebong, Andrew Mugati & Rajab Mukombozi.
No-go area
In Nwoya District, visitors from towns are being tasked to explain their movements before they are allowed to settle in the villages.
In Pader District, if you have been staying in Kampala, you are not allowed to cross through the district for fear of spreading the disease. “If one is coming from Kampala and outside Uganda, they are not being allowed because he or she might be a carrier of the disease,’’ Mr Robert
Gwok-lebi, the parish councillor of Gem-onyot Parish in Acholibur Sub-county, said.
In Busoga Sub-region, villages are also on the lookout for returnees.
Mr Dauda Mukibi, the chairperson of Bulafa Village in Namutumba Sub-county, said: “Returnees from cities which have been pronounced to have Covid-19 cases like Kampala and Iganga have been blocked from entering my village. We are only welcoming those from other towns,” he said.
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