NEWS– The Police in Kanungu District have registered an incident where 2 people died after they were buried alive by sand slides in Katete Sub County.
Kigezi Regional Police Spokesman ASP Elly Maate confirmed the incident which was first reported by Corporal Habib, the Police Officer in Charge of Katete Police Post and identified the deceased persons as 20 year old Mugarura Anaklet, a resident of Kanyamisinga village in Nyakishojwa Parish, Katete Sub county and Niwamanya Barnet aged 31, a resident of Kiijanga village, Rutugunda Parish in Kirima Sub County, Kanungu District.
Maate told journalists on Friday morning that that the incident took place on Thursday February 8th 2024, at a sand quarry located at Kanyamisinga village in Nyakishojwa Parish, Katete Sub County, Kanungu District.
A witness who declined to be named said that the two victims were loading sand on the tipper lorry when the sand slid and burried them alive as they attempted to escape, but were suffocated to death despite attempts to rescue them.
The team led by the OC Kihiihi Police Station Emmanuel Tumukunde, the Scene of Crime Officer Tuheibwe Erasmus, other Homicide Detectives and Security personels visited the scene and recorded statements from the witnesses.
Maate explained that the bodies of the victims were retrieved to Kambuga Hospital Mortuary for postmortem examination before they were handed over to the relatives for burial.
The Resident District Commissioner Kanungu Ambrose Mwesigye Amanyire described the incident as unfortunate and has since ordered the closure of the sand mine until further notice saying that the miners have failed to follow guidelines that were put in place to excavate the sand at the site after the death of several people at the same place in the past years.
The case of death was registered at Kihihi Police Station under reference number GEF 03/2024 as investigations continue.
