Residents of Uganda have been caught between shock and concern, as the waters of River Nile turn crimson red in Jinja.
For some, the bloody flow incident reminds them of the Biblical tale taken from the Old Testament, in which River Nile was alleged to turn red in Egypt as the Isralite God was contesting with the Pharaos.
But on a sane note, it has been discovered that the Jinja-based, Nyanza Textile Industries Limited (NYTIL) was actually the culprit behind the red waters.
The plant is said to be discharging large volumes of liquid waste into the rather important water body on the continent, raising concern regarding the safety of living organisms in the Nile.
Engineer Evan Karuru was the first to raise awareness regarding River Nile waters turning into ‘blood’.
Red Alert
“I just can’t figure out what ‘Nytil’ is discharging into River Nile,” he wrote on Twitter, adding that the National Environment Management of Uganda should take interest in this matter.
Since he tagged the National Environment Management of Uganda, officials of NEMA-UG promptly responded with the diplomatic note; “Thank you for the vigilant alert. Our inspectors have been notified and will visit the site for appropriate intervention.”
However, as more and more people continued posting, albeit angrily, about the maroon water issue, NEMA maintained its response; “We have taken note of this alert. Thank you for being vigilant. Our field inspectors have been notified to intervene as appropriate!”
And that was about it really. Meanwhile the factory continues to purge red-colored intoxicants into the river.
Writing on his handler, Solomon Jackson Muddukaki was clearly irked by this development.
“I will always insist on advising the institution to stop allowing factories to be in charge of their environmental audit. How can a factory be in charge of procuring an auditor of compliance? This need to change,” Solomon Muddukaki lashed.
There was also the comment from Ritah Pavin, who observed that “This is catastrophic for our environment! I bet so much will be done! After all….it’s the company that makes our President’s clothes!”
So President Museveni’s design clothes usually roll from the Nytil factory of Jinja? The Ugandan Head of state should be made aware of the trouble that the firm is causing in the Nile. Wait until Egyptians and Sudanese downstream get to hear about the Maroon color which Nile waters are adopting.
“Like most factories, they are given permits to dump a specified amount of waste according to the law. If they dump above the limit, then it becomes pollution,” stated one Allan Clive.
Other Ugandans warned that the textile factory is tied to rather strong and influential people, or politicians of Uganda which means no step will ever be taken to address the issue.
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