Kiteezi Landslide: Latest Updates on the Tragedy That Claimed 14 Lives and Ongoing Search

At least 14 bodies have been retrieved from a heap of garbage that buried houses and livestock at the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Landfill in Kiteezi, Kawempe Division, as the search for more victims continues.
Six of the victims are adults whose particulars are yet to be established while two are children, according to a statement from KCCA.

As of the time of this report, 14 survivors had been rescued and rushed to Mulago National Referral Hospital for treatment. 
Following the Saturday morning catastrophe at the landfill, which Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago had warned was a disaster waiting to happen eight months ago, authorities suspect additional bodies may be trapped under the waste mound.
“We warned about this disaster well in advance, yet our proactive measures were dismissed. This catastrophe was foreseeable,” he stated.

Lukwago criticized the financial oversight, noting that "Every financial year, 4 billion shillings were allocated with no significant results. The growing piles of garbage reflect the failure of these funds."
He also criticised the government's rejection of waste management proposals.
“Our waste-to-energy proposal, which could have produced 60 megawatts of electricity, was dismissed due to irrational policies,” he explained.

Lukwago declared, "This disaster is now a national crisis," and demanded that the government take quick action. The government needs to call emergency sessions to discuss the impacted families' urgent need for support and compensation. 

Months after Lukwago issued a warning in January to people residing and working close to the landfill that they were in danger from overflowing rubbish, the collapse took place.

Lukwago observed that the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Directorate of Public Health had expressed concerns regarding the landfill's state during a site inspection on January 9.
Rescue operation by a team of residents, police, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) and KCCA is underway to find more survivors or recover more bodies.

The Kiteezi landfill, established in 1996, has filled its 36 acres with large mounds of garbage. As a result, the government had acquired 136 acres in Dundu, Mukono District, for a new landfill.