Authorities at Nyamirima Primary and Secondary School in Ruteete sub-county, Kabarole district are puzzled with the impending closure of the main road to the school.
The school was given a two-week ultimatum to repair and stop using the same road, which goes through a property owned by Maj General Kayanja Muhanga, the Commander of the UPDF Contingent in the Eastern Democratic Republic of congo. This had been the main access route to the school over the last 15-years.
In a letter dated January 14, Maj Gen Muhanga said that he intends to develop the land and instructed the school to find an alternative access road for the learners and visitors. He stated that the dust from the road is hazardous and dangerous to his family and friends and that having a road crossing through his property makes his home insecure.
Muhanga said that he had ‘seriously considered’ his security as a serving General in the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces-UPDF due to prevailing threats before taking the decision. “By this notification, therefore, I give the school a period of two weeks to initially repair the same road that you used to construct your school,” the letter reads.
But the headteacher Nyamirima School Deogratias Irumba told URN that the school has run short of options. According to Irumba, the authorities from Kabarole district have so far failed to convince Maj Gen Muhanga to rescind his decision.
Irumba says they have to purchase land adjacent to the school to establish another access road. However, he says this is way too costly since the school is situated on a high terrain whose route alignment is both problematic and expensive. He still hopes that the matter can be settled amicably.
Although the two weeks are elapsing on January 28, the road is already filled with barricades. While the learners are now allowed to use the paths on foot, motor vehicles, even those delivering supplies have been barred from crossing through the 500-meter stretch of Muhanga’s land to the school.
The District chairman who attempted to use the same road to access the school on January 17, was held for more than an hour before he was allowed to cross to the other side. Leticia Nabakka, a Commissioner from the Ministry of Education Inspectorate who had paid an official visit to the school on January 20, 2022, was also blocked and ordered out of her vehicle by officers manning a barricade erected on the road to stop vehicles from accessing the school.
Kabarole District Inspector of Schools Joseph Rujumba told URN that an alternative route will be established to end the inconveniences that the learners and community members were going through as a result of the blockade.
Lorry drivers who transport building materials at Nyamirima School said their vehicles were trapped in the school premises following the issuance of the order of not allowing any access of mortal vehicles. According to residents, the road had been in use long before Muhanga bought the land about a year ago.
Nyamirima Nursery, Primary and Secondary School has an enrollment of over 1,100 learners, who trek from the sub-counties of Kasenda, Ruteete Sub County, Kasenda Town Council, and Kiko Town Council respectively.
