Residents of Kagongo, a Catholic-dominated parish in Ibanda Municipality, on Monday besieged the Church and took the parish priest, Fr. JB Turyaheebwa, hostage accusing him of doing nothing to protect the water source gifted to them by missionaries.
The unusual reaction of the residents came after they had spent over a week without water, a situation they said was affecting sanitation in the area as schools, a hospital and training college were all affected.
In 1912, missionaries from the White Fathers Church in London established a number of institutions in Ibanda, particularly Kagongo including primary and secondary schools, a hospital – Kagongo which happens to be the biggest catering for almost all the locals, a primary teachers’ training college (St Georges) and also the church.
These missionaries, together with the residents, ascended to a hill in the vicinity, locally known as ‘Karivariyo’ (Calvary) and established a water supply centre to all the establishments.
The water was free of charge.
Since then, generations have benefited from that water.
Until three years ago when the Ministry of Water took over Ibanda water and handed it over to National Water and Sewage Corporation (NWSC).
Whereas NWCS succeeded in taking over Kamukuli, Kyereta and Mukazianyara- supply centres, the residents of Kagongo vehemently protested the takeover of their resource.
NWSC spokesman Samuel Apadel told this website that when the corporation started its operations in Ibanda it had never encountered any resistance but rather extended service to most of the homes and establishments in the district.
“All we did was to make sure that we improve the quality of the water and also ensure that everyone in Ibanda benefits from the safe water at a small fee of 64 shillings per jerry can,” he said.
On the crisis that occurred weeks ago prompting a protest, Apadel says a parish plumber had cut off the water pipes that supply water to the institution.
“The RDC of Ibanda went and looked for this plumber who confessed that he was repairing the water and ending messing the lines but he fixed everything now the area has water flowing,” Apadel said.
Contestation
The residents insist that a white Father Franz Puff compensated locals who resided in the hill to resettle so that the water table rises.
“The attachment we have with this water stems from way back. This water only supplies the institutions in the surrounding. NWSC just didn’t sensitize the residents on the need to take over,” one of the residents said.
TrumpetNews has further learnt that the villagers blame the priests for conniving with NWSC and they have vowed to ‘punish’ them should their water be taken away.
But Apadel maintains that NWSC has no intentions of taking over Kagongo water.
The locals have since threatened to resort to using a nearby swamp in Katehe instead if NWSC takes complete control of their water resource.