COMMENT | GODWIN TOKO | It is impossible to describe the magnitude of tragedy that befell Kiteezi and Lusanja in a tweet. However, the picture below captures, in part, the mountain of rubbish that peeled off on Saturday morning.
This (photograph below) is what is left of it, in the background and to the extreme right. The rubbish washed and covered such a long distance in its wake causing immense destruction.
As it moved, the mountain of rubbish buried with it several houses. A local council leader put the figure of ‘mizigo’ at 90.
I am told that also buried is a storied residential building, a football field, an excavator, trucks, smaller cars, businesses, and – SADLY an unknown number of human beings: Ugandans!
According to someone we spoke to on Monday in the Red Cross tent, so far 21 bodies have been recovered. None today as per his last count. He added that time is running out fast and they have just two more days before all hope – whatever there is of it – is extinguished as per their standard operating procedures.
A lady who lost a sister and nephew says she’s holding onto hope that her sister’s body will be found – that’s all she hopes for now – but she says there’s zero chance her ‘son’ will be found saying he was at the very place where the slide started and buried an excavator. We asked her for an estimation of people buried under the rubbish, she said it must be well over 100.
Most of the people we spoke to say it is easier for authorities to arrive at a figure by simply looking at families directly affected. But, they add that such a figure will be grossly misleading; the majority of those buried, according to their estimates, are those who made their living off the landfill. Those who collected metallic pieces, polythene paper, and bottles, and those who bought them.
Add to this group those who bought whatever was collected from the rubbish, and those working for private companies that take the rubbish there.
Sadly, while there are 8 excavators at the scene – that’s what I counted but Prime Minister Nabanjja said there are 15 – and a couple of personnel engaged in rescue efforts. There are hundreds of policemen and soldiers with all sorts of arms for the gods-alone-know what!
A family that lost a loved one had just had their funeral with the tents and chairs still at their home when the disaster happened. Many more houses remain precarious close to the mountain of rubbish
Understanding the economy of Kiteezi is another uphill task. But I was told people have bought land, built houses, trucks, and other valuables by collecting rubbish and selling it for recycling. There’s so much money to make there, we are told, that KCCA reportedly charges an annual fee and even issues operation permits for those who work there.
So booming was this trade that our sources say witchcraft had become such a part of it that some people ran from it for fear of being bewitched into running mad!
This lady lost a sister and nephew to @KCCAUG rubbish in Kiteezi. We asked her for an estimation of people buried under the rubbish, she said it must be well over 100.
Sadly, many people we spoke to say the number of people – mostly poor youths – who earned a living off the… pic.twitter.com/vl0zL1Shkz
— TOKO (@GodwinTOKO) August 12, 2024
So, there was enough reason for so many people to be there that Saturday morning at 7.45am when the incident happened. We were told it’s always a mad rush with some sleeping there – making it their home – and others going as early as 4 am!
Sadly, most of in the people in this latter category have no known families – it’s said most of them were Bagisu and Japadhola from eastern Uganda. This is likely to make it even harder to account for them since many of them simply came to Kampala to try their luck with their families and friends hardly knowing where they work or what they do.
Even more shocking, the local leader said minor cases of rubbish peeling off had become common and they had notified KCCA about this, but the authority did nothing!
****
This is an extract from X (twitter). Godwin Toko @GodwinTOKO is a Human Rights Kampala lawyer.
******
RELATED STORY
KITEEZI TRAGEDY: Death toll of garbage dump landslide in Uganda climbs to 21