The collapse of the Kiteezi-Kiteetika landfill on Saturday has heightened fears of a looming garbage crisis in the capital, Kampala.
The landfill, which handled 600 tonnes of garbage daily, had grown into a massive mountain before collapsing, killing so far 21 residents and injuring others. The disaster underscores the urgent need for authorities to find an alternative dumping site to prevent a catastrophic waste pile-up in the city.
Concerns have been raised about the negligence of responsible bodies, as warnings about the landfill's deteriorating condition were ignored. The 29-acre facility, opened in 1996, had already reached its maximum capacity by 2005, yet no steps were taken to allocate another site for garbage disposal from Kampala and its surrounding areas. Over the years, the landfill continued to receive waste, eventually forming a towering mountain with steep slopes that made the collapse inevitable.
Kampala Lord Mayor Elias Lukwago, in a media interview, revealed that their earlier proposals to relocate the landfill were dismissed by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), who accused them of "politicking." Lukwago stated, "We saw this coming a long time ago and brought a bill to find an alternative place for a landfill, but they said we were playing political games."
In the wake of the collapse, the situation has reached a crisis point. All waste management operations in the city have been halted, as Kiteezi was the only designated site for garbage disposal. Without an immediate solution, Kampala and its surrounding areas face a severe garbage crisis that could have far-reaching consequences.
GARBAGE CRISIS LOOMS IN KAMPALA AS WASTE COLLECTION STALLS
In the aftermath of the Kiteezi landfill collapse, waste management companies in Kampala are grappling with the sudden halt in operations. Waste King, a private company responsible for garbage collection in Kkungu Buwaate, a Kampala suburb, reported that they have been forced to stop business, leaving their clients with accumulating garbage.
The company was instructed by authorities to cease bringing waste to Kiteezi due to the landslide. "Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has not yet provided us with a new dumping site; so, we have no way forward," a representative from Waste King stated.
The representative warned that if KCCA does not allocate an alternative location soon, the city could face a significant garbage crisis.
"Garbage has been piling up in households since last week, and there is nowhere to dump it legally. According to the law, dumping waste without direction from KCCA and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) is illegal, and violators can face prison time or fines, along with the cancellation of their license," she explained.
Collins Mutebi, who works with Domestic Waste Company, another waste management firm, echoed these concerns, noting that the city is already on the brink of a garbage crisis.
"Businesses such as restaurants and markets, which generate the most waste, are still operating. Missing even a single day of garbage collection at a market is already a crisis. Now, imagine the situation since Saturday, with no waste collection at all," Mutebi said.
He urged KCCA to urgently designate an alternative dumping site to alleviate the mounting garbage crisis, although the duration of this emergency remains uncertain. Rodney Mukula from Asante Waste Management revealed that they had anticipated the collapse of the Kiteezi landfill about five years ago due to the increasing volume of waste collected by various companies.
"The amount of rubbish brought to that area was increasing every day, yet the landfill itself was not expanding. The government had not allocated funds to relocate the site, creating a ticking time bomb. It was only a matter of time before this happened," Mukula explained.
He noted that despite the growing volume of waste, the facility had not implemented a circular business model that encourages recycling, reduction, and reuse before disposal.
"Most companies are just collecting and dumping, which has significantly increased the tonnes of garbage taken to Kiteezi every single day," he said.
Mukula added that while Asante Waste Management is still conducting business, they have reduced operations. Unlike other companies, Asante recycles nearly 70% of the garbage they receive, which lessens the amount they need to dispose of at Kiteezi. In response to concerns about a potential garbage crisis in Kampala, the head of Public and Corporate Affairs at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Daniel NuwaAbine revealed that they have a temporary arrangement with the Entebbe municipality to use the Nkumba landfill.
"We are going to be dumping the garbage from Kampala at Nkumba landfill while we assess whether Kiteezi can resume operations," he said.
To manage the daily waste production, NuwaAbine mentioned that KCCA has plans to develop the Mukono Ddundu land into a waste-to-energy plant, which would be environmentally safe and generate electricity. He dismissed earlier speculation about turning Ddundu into a landfill, stating, "We cannot have the same problem of a landfill exploding here and then repeat it in Mukono."
He also noted that KCCA is in the final stages of procuring the Ddundu land and partnering with a private entrepreneur to implement the waste-to-energy project.
Jessica Bagenda, CEO of Haba Na Aba Food Bank, a non-governmental organization focused on food rescue, emphasized the urgent need to educate Ugandans on food preservation to reduce daily waste.
"When you go to the markets, the highest percentage of waste is food items, which indicates a need to educate people on how to reduce food wastage," she said. Bagenda added that Ugandans could use alternative methods to preserve food. For example, tomatoes that can no longer be sold because they are no longer fresh could be used to make juice, which currently costs $200 on the international market, instead of being discarded.
FATEFUL SATURDAY
On the fateful Friday, an elderly woman sat on the veranda of a house just a few meters from the site of the Kiteezi landfill collapse, anxiously awaiting the retrieval of her grandchild's body. The child was among those who perished in the tragic event.
The woman explained that her daughter, Madinah Nambooze, had left the child in the care of a neighbor along with other children when the incident occurred. To this day, none of their bodies has been found.
Amid tight security by the police and the army, Nambooze was among hundreds of people trying to access the Red Cross tent to register the names of missing relatives, indicating that the number of casualties might rise beyond the 21 deaths reported so far.
The catastrophic landslide at the Kiteezi-Kiteetika landfill has raised serious concerns about the neglect of early warning signs by the responsible authorities. The landfill, which opened in 1996, was found to have reached its maximum capacity in 2005, according to a 2015 study by researchers from Makerere University and the University of Cape Town.
The study warned that "the stability of these slopes has become a major concern, especially during the rainy season on the northern tipping front," highlighting the long-standing risks that were ignored.
Despite warnings and signs of instability, no steps were taken to allocate an alternative site for disposing of garbage from Kampala and its surrounding areas. Over 20 years, the Kiteezi landfill continued to receive about 600 tonnes of waste daily, eventually growing into a massive mountain with steep slopes. It was only a matter of time before it collapsed.
Esther Namazzi, who lost two brothers in the disaster, shared that the landfill had been showing signs of impending collapse for a long time.
"There were cracks around the landfill, and everyone saw them, but no one took it seriously," she said.
Namazzi further explained that the immediate cause of the collapse was the vibrations caused by graders clearing trenches on the other side of the landfill after the garbage had filled them. The already cracked landfill was further weakened by these vibrations, leading to the tragic collapse that claimed lives and left many injured.
"There were huge trenches that had been filled with garbage, and the graders that were cleaning them caused vibrations that weakened the landfill," she added.
Namazzi also mentioned that while people were prepared to be compensated and relocate, the compensation offered was too little to buy land elsewhere. As of now, the bodies of her brothers have yet to be found.
James Katamba, a resident of Kiteezi, remarked that the landslide was the culmination of long-standing issues faced by those living near the landfill. Katamba explained that some houses had been vacated long ago due to water seeping from the landfill and flooding their homes.
"On the side where the landslide did not occur, most of the houses are empty; the owners vacated them long ago due to the flooding caused by water from the garbage," he said.
Despite residents repeatedly calling upon the authorities for help, nothing was done, leaving many people homeless. Katamba attributed the landslide to the large trenches constructed to channel excess water from the landfill. He suggested that this water might have soaked into the garbage, leading to the collapse.
"We used to pass by the area where the incident happened, and we could see those trenches, which were so large to transport the water. That might be the cause," he noted.
Katamba also said those who were not directly affected are now living in fear, unsure of which part of the landfill might collapse next. "Even those of us who were not affected are living in fear of the incident happening again, as our houses are so close to the landfill," he said.
He urged the government to find an alternative site for garbage disposal that is far from residential areas. He warned that it is only a matter of time before the landfill's growing mass of garbage reaches the main road, as tonnes of waste are brought in daily.
Interviewed for this story, Daniel NuweAbine, the head of Public and Corporate Affairs at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), refuted claims that KCCA had been idle in the face of the growing dangers at the landfill. He asserted that KCCA had long recognized the need to decommission the Kiteezi landfill and was exploring alternatives. "You can't say that KCCA was doing nothing, as some reports have claimed," he said.
"This was an extraordinary event that caught everyone by surprise. It's the rainy season, and on Friday night, the downpours might have soaked the garbage, leading to the landslides," he added.
NuweAbine also dismissed allegations that a Chinese company involved in biogas extraction was responsible for the landslide. "I don't know about such reports because I have not seen any Chinese there," he stated.
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