Man-like cassava tuber causes panic in Arua, Uganda

AMELIA Joru, 52, resident of Andifeku village in Vurra county, Arua district (Uganda) has no peace after she uprooted a cassava tuber on Sunday evening with features resembling those of a man.

She said the harvest had gone on peacefully until she reached the last plant, where she found what she called a misfortune.

“The tuber had a head, chest, umbilical code, penis, knees and feet without toes. My heart missed a leap and I became restless,” she narrated.

Joru said she hurriedly packed the cassava tubers and went home. But fearing that the strange tuber might change into something at night to disturb her and her only surviving son, she decided to bring it in public.

The tuber was tied on a tree with a piece of cloth at Andifeku trading centre.
“I don’t know whether this is a sign that I’m going to die with my child soon,” the elderly mother said in horror.

Two days after the incident, residents were still in panic, while more people from as far as Arua town continued to flock the village to catch a glimpse of the rare tuber.

Massimo Okuti, 74, an elder in the area, said nothing of this kind had been seen in the area before.

He said the perturbing cassava tuber could be a bad omen since Joru went to work on Sunday instead of resting.
He appealed to religious leaders to counsel the people and pray to God to avert any tragedy from befalling the village.

Joseph Abibatua, the LCI chairman, said the tuber had caused anxiety among farmers in the area.

But Jimmy Bamuru Ayoma, the Arua district production coordinator, asked the farmers to be calm, saying the tuber was an abnormal growth.