A second-year student at Makerere University is nursing injuries she sustained on Saturday morning when she fell into an open manhole within the university campus.

Jemima Kagere, from the School of Education, sprained her leg after falling into the open manhole just outside the Arts Building in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS). Kagere says the incident happed at 6:58am.

“I just have to go for treatment because I am in too much pain but this manhole should be fixed immediately. This may happen to someone else so it should be covered as soon as possible," Kagere said when contacted by our reporter.

Moryn Nansubuga, a student from Development Studies, faulted the University for doing little to have manholes sealed. Nansubuga says many open manholes are scattered within the university.  "It is not good for manholes to be left uncovered as students are likely to fall there and get injured. People in charge should cover them as soon as possible to prevent future accidents," she said.

This reporter counted at least three open manholes as she walked around the university campus on Saturday morning. In the Arts Quadrangle alone, two manholes remain uncovered posing a threat to thousands of students who attend lectures, both day and evening. The Arts Building, one of the oldest at Makerere, has been undergoing renovation but it is not clear if sealing the manholes is part of the renovations.

Another manhole is near the Western Gate, towards Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road.

According to Prossy Katusiime, a Bachelor of Arts in Arts student, appealed to the university leadership to take immediate steps to address the problem. "In order to avoid occurrence of accidents resulting from the open manholes, I would appeal to the department in charge to take appropriate action in covering the manhole," she said.

Elizabeth Nakakoni, a student from the Department of Journalism and Communication, said that the open manholes are a serious threat to both students and employees in the University.

Another student, Musa Kizito, claimed that there were many incidents in which people sustained injuries after falling into the uncovered manholes.

On August 20, Sserunkuuma Celvic, a student from the School of Education fell into a manhole and sustained injuries that left him moving with a lot of pain for a month as he received treatment.

Open manholes inside Makerere University may be part of the wider problem within Kampala. In 2014, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) officials told parliament that there were over 1,000 open manholes in the city which were a big threat to the public.

Jennifer Musisi, the KCCA Executive Director told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament that almost all manhole covers in the city were being vandalized or stolen by scrap dealers.