The death toll from a landslide at a vast rubbish dump in Uganda’s capital Kampala has risen to 21, police said on Sunday, as rescuers continued to dig for survivors.
After torrential rain in recent weeks a chunk of rubbish from the city’s only landfill broke off late on Friday, crushing and burying homes on the edge of the site as residents slept.
President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement he had directed the prime minister to coordinate the removal of all those living near the rubbish dump.
The government has also started investigations into the landslide’s cause and will take action against any officials found to have been negligent, the Inspectorate of Government said on X.
At least 14 people have been rescued so far, police spokesman Patrick Onyango said, adding that more could still be trapped but the number was unknown.
“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,” Onyango said.
Tents have been set up nearby for those displaced by the landslide, the Red Cross said.
Kampala mayor Erias Lukwago said on Saturday that the Kiteezi landfill, a 36-acre (14 hectare) site, was full to capacity.
“This is a disaster and was bound to happen,” he added.
The landfill site, known as Kiteezi, has served as Kampala’s sole rubbish dump for decades and had turned into a big hill. Residents have long complained of hazardous waste polluting the environment and posing a danger to residents.
Efforts by the city authority to procure a new landfill site have dragged on for years.
There have been similar tragedies elsewhere in Africa from poorly managed mountains of municipal rubbish.
In 2017 at least 115 people were killed in Ethiopia, crushed by a refuse landslide in Addis Ababa. In Mozambique, at least 17 people died in a similar 2018 disaster in Maputo.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
