Mbale residents disobey Museveni’s Covid-19 lockdown directive, flood streets

By George Mangula

Despite the nationwide lockdown that has run since 1^st April, 2020 as announced by President Yoweri Museveni in effort to guard against the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19), hundreds of Mbale town residents still roam the town’s streets daily in search of food and other essential items to keep them alive, at least for now.

Those that leave their homes, including street kids, can be found on the streets like Naboa road, Market Street, Bishop Wasikye Road, Republic Street, Kumi Road and Pallisa Road. Some sit in groups ignoring Covid-19 prevention guidelines of social distancing and others.

Yesterday morning, security operatives had to chase mechanics who had come to work in Mbale’s main garage. The garage provides the mechanics, most of them the youth, a daily income to keep them and their families.

“We were promised food but right now we hear of corruption in the office of the prime minister yet they are the ones supposed to give us posho and beans. I need to feed my family as I wait for the food government promised,” said Muzamiru Gadenya, a mechanic specialises in repairing bodabodas made in India.

Despite the hunger cries of residents, security authorities and Covid-19 district taskforce committee leaders say town residents should stay in their homes during day and night as directed by president Museveni. “We are trying our best to ensure that people in Mbale town stay safe in their homes, much as majority families in the town have the challenge of feeding their members,” said a member of the taskforce who prefered to speak on condition of anonymity as he is not supposed to speak on behalf of the taskforce.

This news website has observed that most people who roam the streets of Mbale are mainly the youth who do casual jobs to survive on the daily basis. However since most of their bosses have shut down businesses as per Museveni’s directive on Covid-19, the youth who are between the 18-30 are finding it had to subsist on the daily basis as they no longer earn any money.

“Before the lockdown, I used to earn Shs5, 000 daily as a barber in the hair salon. However, since the lockdown started, I have been begging for money from relatives and friends so that I can be able to buy something to eat. I actually depend on chapati as I cannot afford food like matooke and posho,” said Amos Kategere, when asked by this reporter why he was roaming the streets despite the lockdown.

Mbale town, which is a major commercial centre in the Elgon region and surrouding regions pulls job-searching youth from the districts of Mbale, Manafwa, Sironko, Bulambuli, Bududa, Namisindwa, Tororo, Butaleja, Budaka, Pallisa, Kumi, Kapchorwa. For instance Kategere says his home village is in Pallisa and he had to escape poverty ther for a job as a barber. However, since the lockdown was announced the youth from distant villages and districts have found it hard to return to their homes where they could easily find food. “I am unable to walk to Pallisa as it is very far from here,” Kategere cried as he gave a brief street interview to this reporter.

Mbale town currently has three divisions of Northern, Industrial and Wanale, all mostly providing odd jobs as formal jobs that can give residents monthly salaries and daily allowances are hard to come by. “As you we have very few companies that pay monthly salaries. Here we have mainly banks, government departments and some telecom companies that pay a few people monthly salaries. That means most people are in the informal sector which in most cases pays on the daily basis and no allowances,” said a councilor at the district council, adding that he was not happy that government has delayed to give his residents relief food.

Meanwhile, others found on the streets despite the lockdown, say they come to check on their areas of work in case of theft and burglary. “Every morning I have to come to town to check on my shop as I have no money to hire a security guard. You cannot depend on police because their job is to patrol streets,” said Kasim Mutwalibu, who sells fashion and design items like clothes, watches and others.

Others especially women have resorted to selling food items like green vegetables, fruit, boiled maize, tomatoes  and egg plants as they crisscross streets and villages in the town, including visiting people’s homes. “I move around town in search of people who can buy my tomatoes so that I can feed my children,” said Agnes Nagudi who resides in Wanale division.

For Scovia Namusoga, dry season’s maize grown in swamps in nearby Budaka has matured and it is an opportunity for her to make some money for the family. “I buy from farmers cheaply and then I boil it for my customers in Mbale town,” she said, adding that her boiled maize cobs go for between Shs500 and Shs700 depending on the size. “I made a profit of Shs10000 every evening,” she says.

A senior politician from the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) when asked about the big numbers of people in Mbale town, lambasted government for going slow in the distribution of food, saying that government must take the blame for the presence of many people in the town during day, despite the lockdown. 

“I don’t support people being on the streets during the day because it is dangerous right now as Covid-19 likes spreading fast in crowds of people, but I must blame government for the slow process of food distribution. Does it surprise you that we already have food relief scandals in the Office of the Prime Minister? When we say this government has mafias you say the opposition is mad. I urge president Museveni to do something on food distribution if he is serious in keeping people in their homes,” he said.