BUTALEJA – Hon. Balaam has visited the collapsed Manafwa River bridge in Butaleja District after residents cried out to him over the dangerous state of the crossing that has claimed lives.

The bridge, which links the districts of Butaleja, Tororo and Kibuku, collapsed about three years ago, around 2022/2023, and has never been rebuilt. The road was once a key transport corridor for rice farmers and traders moving produce from the Doho irrigation schemes.

Following the collapse, the route that once bustled with trucks is now abandoned by vehicles. Residents, in an attempt to reconnect their communities, constructed a narrow makeshift timber crossing. The fragile structure is regularly swept away by strong water currents and becomes very slippery during rains, locking out all vehicle movement.

The situation has turned deadly.

According to the residents, the collapsed gap has already cost lives. “That road has cost farmers and even lives. At one time a vehicle belonging to Umeme didn’t know the bridge had collapsed and drove into it, causing deaths. Even boda boda riders have fallen into that bridge,” One resident said.

It is reported that the Umeme workers were driving at night and did not know the bridge was gone, plunging into the river channel.

Residents say transport remains cut off, trade has been paralyzed, and they are forced to risk their lives walking across the dangerous timber crossing to access gardens, schools and markets.

During his visit, Hon. Balaam listened to the residents’ concerns and inspected the makeshift crossing. Locals are now appealing to government to urgently reconstruct the bridge to restore safe movement and revive trade between the three districts.