The death toll from a landslide at a huge rubbish dump in Uganda’s capital Kampala rose to 21 on Sunday, with rescuers still searching for survivors, local police said.
Following heavy rains in recent weeks, a huge pile of rubbish at the city’s only landfill collapsed on Friday night into Saturday, crushing and burying houses standing nearby while residents slept.
President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement that he has instructed the Prime Minister to coordinate the evacuation of all those living near the rubbish dump.
Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said, according to AFP:
“The rescue operation is still ongoing until we are sure no one is trapped.”
Fourteen people were rescued, as well as several animals, he added, warning that more people could be trapped. He also added:
“In our estimation, about 1,000 people have been displaced by the incident, and [we are] currently working with other agencies of government and the community leadership to see how to help the affected people.”
Kitezi has for decades served as Kampala’s only rubbish dump, which has become a giant hill. Residents have often complained that the hazardous waste is polluting the environment and posing a danger.
Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago said on Saturday that the dump was overflowing. He also added:
“This is a disaster and it was bound to happen.”
Similar tragedies involving mountains of urban rubbish have occurred elsewhere in Africa. At least 115 people died in Ethiopia after being swept away by a rubbish landslide in Addis Ababa in 2017. In Mozambique, a similar 2018 disaster in Maputo killed at least 17 people.
