Mbarara: Rwizi Arch Hotel faces closure for operating in a wetland

Mbarara Resident District Commissioner, captain Martha Asiimwe has warned that Rwizi Arch Hotel , in Mbarara will be closed for operating in a wetland that is putting lives of people at risk. Captain Asiimwe sounded the warning during an impromptu inspection of the hotel facility to check on the damages caused by heavy rains that left part of the hotel wall destroyed. Violent floods that hit Mbarara on Wednesday evening left part of Rwizi Arch hotel defense wall which separates the hotel from the main road shattered.

A number of boda boda operators around the hotel also drowned with one death recorded by police . Mbarara Police DPC, Jaffer Magyezi identified the deceased as Vincent Mubangizi, a boda boda cyclist from Ruhinda in Mitooma district was confirmed dead this morning. He died at Rwebikoona near Rwizi Arch Hotel in Kamukuzi division after he was washed away by the running water.

Police also discovered five motorcycles,including that of the deceased ,adding that the owners of two of the other motorcycles have so far been claimed. Some of the recovered motorcycles are of registration numbers; UED 674A, UER 487R and UEJ 699J among others.We caught up with one of the survivors, Vicent Atukunzire, a boda boda cyclist who intimated that that he managed to climb the wall and jump into Rwizi Arch Hotel

The RDC said the hotel that was built in a wetland blocked the water channel that connects to River Rwizi.

She said that she will soon launch a crackdown on all facilities constructed on wetlands and ensure they close, because they are putting people’s lives at risk.

The Mbarara Municipality mayor re-sounded the message. Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi says people should learn a lesson from what happened and start withdrawing from the wetlands to avoid further circumstances.

Kakyebezi notes that they have been doing all they can to evict people from wetlands but some people have been adamant.