{"id":10423,"date":"2026-03-03T12:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westernpearlreports.com\/?p=10423"},"modified":"2026-03-03T12:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:56:09","slug":"years-of-neglect-rukiga-villagers-forced-to-drink-from-exposed-stream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westernpearlreports.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/years-of-neglect-rukiga-villagers-forced-to-drink-from-exposed-stream\/","title":{"rendered":"Years of Neglect: Rukiga Villagers Forced to Drink from Exposed Stream"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RUKIGA, UGANDA<\/strong> – Residents in Rukiga District have demanded the government\u2019s immediate intervention to end years of neglect and finally connect their communities to the national water and electricity grids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long-standing frustrations came to a head this week as locals in the three neighboring cells of Butobere, Nyakanengo, and Nyaruhanga, all located in Rutare ward, Muhanga Town Council, detailed the daily struggles caused by the lack of basic services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents from the cells remain without a single electricity connection, even as power poles visibly line the path to their electrified neighbors. Compounding this energy neglect is a severe water crisis that forces the population to rely on a small, open stream known locally as “Akarindi.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resident Mr. Olishaba Syliverio recalls that it has been nearly two decades since the community last had clean water. In 2005, heavy rains washed away their reliable springs and left them destitute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He confirmed that families currently rely on the exposed and uncovered Ahakigogo stream, a precarious source that forces them to risk waterborne diseases every time they fetch water for their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We last had clean water in 2005, before heavy rains washed our sources away. Since then, we have survived on the exposed Ahakigogo stream, which sits in an open place with no cover. We risk waterborne diseases every time we fetch water, living in constant fear of what we give our children to drink,” Olishaba said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cue in: Syliverio on the crisis. RR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n