Town dwellers in Bukedea foot for 40 Kilometers to Return to Villages

A number of people in Bekedea Town Council, in the Teso sub region of eastern Uganda have opted to trek back to their villages after 40 days of lockdown in the Country. 

“My daughter and I are single mothers, we had hoped that the President would consider lifting up restrictions very soon but it has taken long than we expected,” said Janet Asekenye, while speaking to Melanie Aanyu 

The unprecedented Urban – Rural migration is all happening thanks to novel coronavirus pandemic financial constraints. 

Asekenye, who has been selling Ajon [local brew] as her major source of income, told our correspondent that, “we did not eat for the last two days because we ran out of food and other basic needs.” 

At the time of this interview,  Asekenye and her daughter were trekking from Bukedea town to Tajari village of their origin, in Kamutur sub county, which is also a distance of about 40 kilometres from the town centre. 

They carried luggage on their heads, babies on the backs while their hands were also laden with light households including empty jerricans.  

With the continued ban on public transport still, reports indicate that a given amount of people are leaving Bukedea town to migrate back to villages, due to coronavirus financial constraints.