Published on 04/03/2025
Widows on Bussi Islands in Wakiso District whose husbands have been attacked and killed by wild animals have not been compensated due to the bureaucratic hurdles in obtaining death certificates.
Wakiso District Woman Representative, Hon. Betty Naluyima raised the matter of national importance at a plenary sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa on Tuesday, 04 March 2025.
Naluyima highlighted the struggles faced by over 100 families citing challenges in obtaining documentation.
“I visited the island over the weekend and met several widows whose husbands were killed by especially hippos on Lake Victoria,” Naluyima revealed.
She added that despite efforts to seek compensation from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), affected families face obstacles due to stringent documentation requirements.
“When they went to the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) to ask for the death certificates, they were only issued with documents listing the cause of death as ‘natural,’ which could not attract compensation,” she explained.
Naluyima urged Parliament to intervene and requested that widows and other affected persons receive timely compensation.
“Can the widows be aided, together with other people, to get compensation in time so that they can be financially supported? Can we have NIRA review its system to ensure that its database provides for compensation in cases of human-wildlife conflict deaths?” she implored.
The Minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Martin Mugarra acknowledged the issue noting that while some claims had been settled, many were rejected due to incomplete documentation.
“Usually, what we need is a post-mortem report, a medical report and a police report to support a compensation claim,” Mugarra stated.
He pledged to work with the affected families to ensure that proper documentation is submitted.
The Deputy Speaker, however, questioned the practicality of requiring post-mortem reports in such cases.
“People who die in such scenarios are from poor families; they won’t even afford processing a post-mortem. Why don’t you make it easier? Why don’t you rely on your police? You have your own bodies,” Tayebwa said.
Buyaga West County MP, Hon. Barnabas Tinkasiimire echoed similar sentiments, highlighting cultural and financial constraints faced by affected families.
“I can state that 70 per cent of our people, when their person dies, do not go for a post-mortem. Secondly, they even have a negative attitude towards post-mortems. They believe it involves dehumanising the dead,” he noted.
Tinkasiimire added that in cases of wildlife attacks, obtaining forensic proof is near to impossible.
“If you are attacked by a lion, will the lion even leave a bone? They scatter the bones in the national park. In the case of hippos, they consume you completely. And you are asking the ordinary person to provide a post-mortem?” he said.
