The residents and workers of the Kyetume abattoir in Mukono district are worried about the abandonment of the facility despite the daily collection of money from it. The residents abandoned it when they saw it was about to collapse, aiming to persuade the Mukono district to take responsibility for its repair.
The Kyetume abattoir is located about three kilometers from Mukono town, in Nakisunga district. The recent heavy rains have further highlighted the long-standing neglect of the facility. Its roof has collapsed, as the walls that would support it have also weakened, and anytime it will fall on the ground.
Rogers Mugisha, who works at the abattoir, confirmed to us that the poor condition of the abattoir is mainly due to the negligence of the Mukono district authorities, which forced some of the former workers and other cattle slaughterers to flee the facility.
Mugisha and his colleagues who are still in the faded facility say there could be a conspiracy, plot and intention to steal the 54-acre ranch land and point the finger at Mukono district officials, because unknown people do not visit the land on a daily basis.
Nowadays, the slaughterhouse has become a garbage dump for residents, and the workers have accused the Mukono district of further neglecting the slaughterhouse where the meat would come from, and destroying it without any action, and urged the government to revive it.
The vice-chairman of the NRM in Mukono, Hajji Haruna Semakula, said it may be the intention of the authorities in Mukono district led by Bakaluba Mukasa, to let the slaughter house be destroyed and then divide its land amongst themselves.
The situation of the abattoir has sparked war within Mukono leaders as some leaders accuse the district Speaker Betty Nakasi of being involved in the plot to sell the land and also lied that they are looking for the developers, yet it is the district chairman Bakaluba Mukasa, which is contrary to the local government act.
Hajji Semakula vowed not to allow Bakaluba to grab the district land, he urged him to instead protect it the way the former leaders did. He further warned district councilors not be used by Bakaluba because of the money he gives them because of his personal benefits.
The slaughter house sits on 54 acres of land, and it was established in the 1960s, was one of the largest cattle slaughterhouses in central Uganda, currently days pass without killing a single cow in the facility.
