Ten families who lost loved ones in the New Year’s Eve stampede at the Freedom City mall in Kampala have received payments from the government.
Each family will receive Shs5 million, Uganda‘s Vice President, Ms. Jessica Alupo, stated during a media event yesterday at Freedom City’s facilities.
Alupo said 18 individuals were evacuated after the stampede from Freedom City, 10 were verified dead, and eight more were brought into hospitals, despite the fact that families yesterday claimed to have found further bodies.
“I send my sincere sympathy and condolence to the families who lost their dear ones that night and also to families whose dear one got injured and they were taken to medical facilities,” she said.
“On the instruction of His Excellency, we are here to commiserate with the members who lost their dear ones and also to extend our support of Shs5 million to each of the families that lost their dear ones so that it can support them in burial arrangements and other emergencies incurred because of the unfortunate incident,” she said.
The VP further requested that the police conduct in-depth investigations and submit a complete report outlining the reasons behind the stampede.
The situation was terrible for their family, according to Mr. Asuman Ssemakula of Busega Kibumbiro in the Kampala District, the uncle of Hanifah Zalwango, who lost two children.
“We had plans to have these children during the festive season, but my son-in-law had prepared something for them. Unfortunately, the next call was on the night of December 31, when he told us that his children had died, it was an unmatched tragedy to lose both children at once in such a situation,” he said.
The kids were laid to rest on Sunday at their ancestral home in Butambala, Mpigi District. Ssemakula criticised the security for failing to inspect the area.
“The security should not only stop at the doorstep to check on those entering. What caused this incident is security negligence, how can you leave a lot of people in a place that was too small to occupy them! The police should make sure that they always go inside to find out if the number that has been allowed is upto the capacity of the building,’’ Ssemakula said.
However, Luke Oweyesigire, the deputy spokesperson for the Kampala Metropolitan Police, claimed that the issue wasn’t with the venue but rather with the master of ceremonies who told attendees to go outside and watch the fireworks.
The venue can hold roughly 20,000 people, and the partygoers used to view fireworks from screens, according to Oweyesigire.
The families of the 11 children who perished in the Salama School for the Blind fire in November of last year received Shs5m in assistance from the government. One million dollars were donated to survivors to cover medical expenses. The government paid out compensation to 57 victims of the Kampala bombings in September, giving Shs. 10 million to survivors and Shs. 20 million to families who lost loved ones.
The government gave Sh115 million to the families of the 23 persons who died in August after flooding in several areas of Mbale City as a result of heavy rain. The government offered Shs5 million in condolences to each flood victim.