By Robert Segawa
Five people have been confirmed dead in Kisenyi I Parish following heavy rainfall that hit Kampala on Friday morning.
According to Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police Spokesperson, four of the victims were unidentified street youths, estimated to be between 16 and 23 years old, while another person is believed to have been electrocuted by floodwaters in downtown Kampala.
Owoyesigyire said the four street youths were swept away by fast-moving rainwater while they were asleep around Ssebalijja Zone and Nakivubo Channel in Kampala Central Division. “It’s alleged that during the heavy downpour, the victims were asleep when the rushing water swept through their makeshift shelters, leading to their drowning,” he said.
Three of the bodies were retrieved by community members, who rushed them to Kisenyi Health Centre, where doctors pronounced them dead. The fourth body was recovered from the Nakivubo Channel opposite City Mall by a joint team of officers from Old Kampala Police Station and the Fire and Rescue Services Unit.
All the bodies were photographed and later taken to the City Mortuary for postmortem examination. Preliminary reports indicate that all the deceased died of drowning. Police also confirmed that the victims were male street children and young men.
Owoyesigyire added that some of the deceased had visible bruises. Two were found naked, while the others were wearing black trousers and T-shirts.
Meanwhile, traders in downtown Kampala closed their shops in protest against ongoing construction works around the Nakivubo drainage channel.
The traders operating near Jesco Beauty Centre, Qualicel, Nabukera, and other nearby arcades accused businessman Hamis Kiggundu’s construction project of blocking the drainage channel, which they say caused flooding that destroyed merchandise worth millions of shillings.
The traders further alleged that bouncers attached to Kiggundu’s project assaulted them during the protest, leaving several injured and others claiming to have lost their phones and cash.
