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Schools close as floods submerge classrooms

Flash floods from Lake Victoria have submerged classrooms at Kamuwunga Primary School in Lwera, Kalungu District, forcing the school to close prematurely for the first term holiday.

Mr John Mutagubya, the chairperson of the School Management Committee, said the lake burst its banks in the area due to increased water levels on the lake shores, submerging classrooms and many houses at the Kamuwunga Landing Site.

Both farmers and sand miners in Lwera dug trenches in the spacious swamp that connects directly to Lake Victoria and this is partly blamed for the current flooding in the area.

He said the school classrooms are on the verge of collapsing and if floods continue, pit-latrines will also get submerged posing a serious health problem.

Currently, the school compound is covered with flood water and to access the classrooms, one has to use a boat.

The school has a total of 300 pupils.

“We have decided to prematurely close the term to save the lives of learners and teachers. The learners will be invited at a later date to sit their end-of-term exams from St Peters Kamuwunga Catholic Church, which is safer,” he said during at the weekend.

The school term is supposed to close on May 3.

Mr Gerald Kiggundu, the Kalungu District vice chairperson, said the district is financially constrained and cannot help the school.

“What is much needed now is digging trenches that can shield the school from flooding, but we cannot do this as a district due to our small resource envelope,” he said.

This is the third time in one year that residents at Kamuwunga are suffering a similar disaster.

Recent case
In May last year, hundreds of households in Kamuwunga were displaced after their houses got submerged in water. In January, of the same year, houses in the area got submerged in water and the affected resident’s relocated to safer places such as Nabyewanga in Mpigi District and Lukaya Town Council in Kalungu District.

In June 2020, Kamuwunga Primary School also flooded forcing the management to suspend lessons for several weeks. Lwera swamp stretches about 20kms on the Kampala–Masaka highway, and is a major water catchment area that connects several rivers and wetlands in Gomba, Mpigi and Kalungu districts and drains directly into Lake Victoria.

 

Source: monitor.co.ug

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. In addition to his media ventures, Solomon serves as a Brand Ambassador for Alabuga, a prominent Russian industrial company, representing their interests and expansion across Africa. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

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