Tragic Landslide at Kampala Garbage Dump Raises Alarm

A landslide at Kampala's primary garbage dump has claimed 21 lives. Efforts are underway to rescue potential survivors and relocate residents. President Museveni has ordered an investigation and relocation of those near the dump. This tragedy echoes similar incidents in Ethiopia and Mozambique.

The death toll from a landslide at a vast garbage dump in Uganda's capital Kampala has risen to 21, police said on Sunday, as rescue workers continued to dig for survivors. Torrential rain in recent weeks caused a huge mound of garbage to collapse late on Friday, crushing and burying homes on the edge of the site as residents slept.

President Yoweri Museveni issued a statement directing the prime minister to coordinate the removal of all those living near the garbage dump. The government has also initiated investigations into the landslide's cause and will take action against any officials found to be negligent, the Inspectorate of Government said on X.

At least 14 people have been rescued so far, police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said, noting that more could still be trapped but the number was unknown. The Red Cross has set up tents nearby for those displaced by the landslide.

The landfill site, known as Kiteezi, has served as Kampala's sole garbage dump for decades and had turned into a massive hill. Residents have long complained of hazardous waste polluting the environment and posing a danger. Efforts by the city authority to procure a new landfill site have been ongoing for years.

Similar tragedies have occurred elsewhere in Africa due to poorly managed mountains of municipal garbage. In 2017, at least 115 people were killed in Ethiopia, crushed by a garbage landslide in Addis Ababa. In Mozambique, at least 17 people died in a similar 2018 disaster in Maputo.

(With inputs from agencies.)