KAMPALA: The death toll from a garbage landslide at the Kiteezi landfill in the Ugandan capital Kampala has risen to 12, with ongoing rescue efforts continuing to search for survivors, police said on Sunday.
The disaster, which occurred on Saturday, resulted in a massive collapse of waste caused by heavy rainfall, burying homes, livestock, and people under mountains of rubbish.
According to Kampala’s metropolitan police spokesman, Patrick Onyango, the rescue operation has thus far retrieved 12 bodies from the debris and successfully rescued 14 people. “The rescue operation is still ongoing until we are sure no one is trapped under the garbage,” Onyango told AFP. He added that several animals, including a dog, had been rescued alive from the site.
Local media reported that the landfill collapse engulfed both residential areas and livestock, with the scale of destruction prompting urgent responses from local authorities. The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) initially reported eight deaths, including two children, but this figure has since been updated as more bodies were recovered from the site.
The disaster has displaced approximately 1,000 people, according to police estimates. Authorities are working in collaboration with government agencies and community leaders to provide assistance and support to the affected people.
Images from the scene depict a Ugandan police excavator working through the enormous piles of garbage, while distraught residents gather behind police tape, holding up pictures of missing loved ones.
Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago, who has long raised concerns about the landfill, described the situation as a “disaster waiting to happen.” The Kiteezi landfill, which spans 36 acres (14 hectares) in a northern district of the capital, has been operational since 1996 and handles nearly all of Kampala’s waste, amounting to approximately 1,500 tonnes daily.
Lukwago warned earlier this year about the health risks posed by the overflowing waste and the lack of maintenance at the landfill. He termed the situation a “national crisis” and called for intervention from the central government and parliament. “This is a disaster and was bound to happen,” Lukwago said.
The Kiteezi landfill disaster comes amid a period of severe weather in East Africa, with heavy rains causing similar issues in other countries. Recent mudslides in southern Ethiopia killed around 250 people, and Uganda has experienced devastating mudslides in the past, including a tragic event in Mount Elgon in 2010 that resulted in over 350 fatalities.
