national 6 April 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Landslide Survivors Begin New Life in Kween District's Girik Resettlement Site
After two years in temporary camps, survivors of Mt Elgon landslides are relocating to a safe 1,318-acre site in Girik Sub-county, Kween District, with each household receiving Shs10 million for home construction. Government officials emphasize preventing returns to risky areas while providing centralized services. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/landslide-survivors-finally-settling-in-kween-district-5414560
Landslide survivors from the Mt Elgon Sub-region are finally moving to a permanent resettlement area in Girik Sub-county, Kween District, following government acquisition of 1,318 acres across plots 756, 757, and 805.
This follows devastating landslides in August 2024, particularly in Bulunganya Sub-county, Bulambuli District, which claimed 49 lives and displaced hundreds. Families had been enduring harsh conditions in tents at Bunambutye camp in Bulambuli District since then.
By last week, 97 households from Buluganya and Sisiyi sub-counties in Sironko District, plus 24 from Namisuni village in Bulambuli, received Shs10 million each—totaling Shs1.21 billion—for building homes on two-acre plots.
Beneficiary Sofi Neumbe expressed relief, noting the end of two years of hardship at Bunambutye, where 1,224 households were initially resettled in 2024, though only 461 remained consistently.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja launched the initiative, stressing that land and funds will only go to households surrendering their former plots to avoid returns to danger zones. She highlighted benefits of centralized relocation for services like schools, health centers, water, and roads, freeing land for agriculture.
Nabbanja acknowledged delays in past efforts, explaining cash transfers allow faster resettlement than building houses. She urged host districts to integrate newcomers and called for environmental protection in Elgon.
State Minister Lillian Aber pledged six months of food and non-food aid, while Permanent Secretary Alex Kakooza announced plans for more land to relocate remaining at-risk families from steep slopes.
Umukuuka wa Bugisu Jude Mike Mudoma hailed the move as a hopeful step for Sebei and Bugisu communities. However, MP John Baptist Nambeshe criticized the approach, advocating multi-storey housing near ancestral lands over distant relocations and unfulfilled compensation.
The strategy shifted from constructing houses—halted as too slow and costly—to cash transfers approved in 2022, building on earlier Bunambutye resettlements since 2013.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)