Kampala — Deep inside his semi-permanent shop, 30-year-old Nelson Manana smiles broadly behind a wooden counter as he serves soda to a customer.

Yet behind the shop is the site of a deadly landslide that swallowed and killed hundreds of human beings, animals and other property. This is at Nametsi village in Bukalasi sub-county in Bududa district, 450 kilometres from Kampala.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners and curious onlookers, including foreign tourists, have flocked Bududa to see the magnitude of the disaster. Consequently, business people have taken advantage of the situation and increased the prices of most commodities by half and others by almost 95%.

Manana agrees that whatever happened in Bududa was a terrible disaster but he also says "Life and business must continue. As we mourn, let's make our lives better," he says. At his rural shop, a bottle of soda used to cost sh700 but he now sells it at sh1,000. A bottle of beer used to cost sh1, 300 but is now at sh1,800.

"In the past, I used to stock about 10 crates of soda and this lasted for over two weeks. But since the disaster hit the place, I am selling 10 crates just in an hour," says Manana. The number of his daily customers has grown from about 10 to 50 when the disaster struck. A bottle of mineral water which used to cost sh600 is now at sh1,000.

The other beneficiaries are the coffin makers. Alice Magomu and her husband, Gerald Magomu, used to sell a coffin of a child at sh10,000 but now it goes for sh40,000. And that of an adult has risen from sh20, 000 to sh60, 000.

Nametsi village cannot be accessed by any motor vehicle, bicycle or motorcycle. So business people use porters to ferry their goods.

They too have increased the prices of their services. Joel Wannakina used to ferry a crate of soda from Bukalasi sub-county headquarters, 20 kilometers from Nametsi, at sh5,000. He has increased it to sh10,000.

Manana adds that everyday, since the disaster struck, he makes five trips to and from town. "The sodas may last for just an hour and I hit the road to get more," he explains. Motorcycles and taxis are also making big money. Moses Namasoko used to ferry people from Bududa town council to Bukalasi sub-county headquarters at sh1,500 but with the arrival of new people in Nametsi, he now charges sh5,000. This is hurting the local people mostly.

A survey done by Business Vision at Bududa market showed that a kilogramme of maize flour soared from sh800 to sh1,500. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, over 56% of Bududa people live below the poverty line compared to the national average of 31%.

A kilogramme of meat used to be at sh4,000 but it goes now for sh5,200. Meals and accommodation at local restaurants and lodges have also gone above the collar. At Bududa Inn, the price of a plate of rice and fish has increased from sh2,500 to sh6,000. Ida Nanduttu, the manager, says the price of rice increased from sh2,000 a kilogramme to sh2,500 and that of fish has increased from sh1,500 to sh2,500.

Self-contained rooms have increased from sh10,000 to sh15,000 per night and others have increased from sh7,000 to sh12,000 per night. Nanduttu attributes the increase to NGO and United Nations workers.

"These people get a lot of money and give little to the communities. We also want to milk something from them. Immediately they leave, we shall lower the prices of goods but of course we shall not lower up to the previous level," she explains. The Bududa district chairman, Wilson Watira, says the government cannot dictate the price of commodities but urged the residents to lower the prices.

"It is good to make profits for development but people shouldn't take advantage of the disaster to impoverish us. This is the time for them to even give free goods," he added.