Iganga, Uganda: Residents of Kasolo–Ngangali village in Bulowoza Parish, Bulamagi Sub-county, Iganga District are demanding urgent action against the management of Tembo Steel Factory after two children drowned in the company’s water dam within one month.
The latest incident involved Elukana Nakale, 8, a pupil and son of Moses Luba, 60, whose body was retrieved from the factory dam on Wednesday after he reportedly went missing the previous evening.
According to residents, Nakale had returned home from school on Tuesday and later joined friends at a nearby mosque to break the Ramadan fast at around 7:00 pm, but never returned home.
The child’s disappearance triggered a search by family members and neighbours before his clothes and footwear were discovered at the shores of the factory dam, raising alarm among residents.
Community members later mobilised and retrieved the child’s body from the dam.
Local leaders say Nakale is the second child to die in the same dam within a month, following the death of Munghebi Samuel, 10, a son of Alweni Florence from the same village who drowned in early February.
The back-to-back tragedies have sparked anger among residents who accuse the factory management of failing to secure the dam despite repeated community appeals.
“We have always engaged the factory management to have the dam protected but all in vain,” said Herbert Ssembela, the LC1 Chairperson of Kasolo–Ngangali village.
“The search was conducted when the child went missing but we did not find him. Early this morning we were informed that his clothes had been seen at the dam and that is how we retrieved the body,” he added.
Area councillor Sylvia Namukuve also criticised the factory management, saying the unprotected dam poses a serious threat to the surrounding community.
Police from Iganga Central Police Station later visited the scene and retrieved the body with the help of a local diver. The body was taken to Iganga General Hospital mortuary for a postmortem examination as investigations continue.
Busoga East Police spokesperson ASP Michael Kasadha confirmed the incident and warned factories and institutions against negligence in managing potentially dangerous infrastructure.
“We caution factories, organisations and institutions against negligence of infrastructures like dams, reservoirs and ponds because they pose significant threats to communities,” Kasadha said in a statement.
He noted that failure to properly secure such infrastructure could expose managers to legal liability if accidents occur.
Factory offers burial support
Sources told DailyExpress that Tembo Steel Factory management supported the family of the deceased child with Shs3 million to cater for burial expenses. The body was later transported to Mbale District, where Nakale is expected to be laid to rest.
It has also been reported that the family of Munghebi Samuel, who drowned earlier in February, received Shs5 million in compensation from the factory before his burial in Butalejja District.
Efforts by DailyExpress to obtain an official comment from the Tembo Steel Factory management were unsuccessful.
However, the company’s Human Resource Manager, Aaron Walter Malinga, said the matter is currently under police investigation and that the factory will issue a statement after receiving the police report.
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