Kiteezi towing irritates survivors of landfill collapse

Mr David Ssekebba and his six siblings lost their mother and breadwinner, a brother and their home in the tragedy. Homeless and jobless, Mr Ssekebba and his siblings now depend on well-wishers for shelter and food.

According to post-mortem reports seen by MonitorHis mother, Jessica Nantege, who was asleep when her home was buried under a pile of trash, died of head injuries following blunt force trauma. Mr Ssekebba’s brother, Timothy Kisule, died of traumatic asphyxiation.

A general report from the government-run city mortuary had indicated that all 35 victims of the landfill collapse were “suffocated by the waste that covered them.”

“The uncertainty of what will happen weighs heavily, even as I mourn my mother and brother,” Ssekebba said.

“We live in unpleasant circumstances. At least while we were in the camp, we all congregated in the same areas and could easily go to a neighbor for psychosocial support,” added Mrs. Joan Nabayiza, one of the siblings.

Mr Ssekebba said their father – who did not live with them but was registered as head of household – disappeared with the Shs2m given by the government to each household, as well as the Shs10m for funeral arrangements. They said the government should compensate them for the lost house and property.

“My appeal is to the government to compensate us so that we can start our lives elsewhere. We receive various information from the government. KCCA said they were working on our issues, but last week the Chief Administration Officer said he was in charge. They say the Prime Minister is no longer responsible for our well-being. It has now been three months and nothing has been comprehensively addressed, not even the recovery of the bodies,” Mr Ssekebba said.

There are four categories of affected people: those who have lost loved ones and buried their belongings in the rubbish; those forced to leave their homes due to flooding, with waste blocking all drainage systems; those whose houses the Prime Minister had demolished to create access roads for earth-moving equipment; and those in the 200-meter buffer zone who had to leave their homes.

None of these categories have been compensated.

Mrs Haula Nakitende lost her five-bedroom house and five rental units. She said they last contacted the government on October 18, but no definitive answers were given.

“All we need from the government is fair and timely compensation. We want to know when it will come. We have never had any problems with school fees. We never begged the government. The government owes us something, it is not doing us any favors. Are they waiting for us to demonstrate?” she said.

Mrs. Miria Nansubuga, who has lived in the area for 13 years, returned to her home, the buffer zone, after failing to find shelter elsewhere.

“If the government really cares, let them stabilize the waste mountain. I’m in the buffer zone, but I can’t leave until I’m compensated. My house is here (and so is my rent) where I used to get money from to pay the school fees for my eight children. The compensation must be fair because the cost of construction now is not the same as when we built,” she said.

Those we spoke to are against relocation to Ddundu, Mukono, an idea floated by some officials.

“Why don’t you compensate them and let them choose where they go? Should you force them? There has to be a work plan but you can’t just tell people to go where they don’t feel comfortable,” said Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago.

On October 10, Ms Lillian Aber, the Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness, said the compensation would be made after extensive appraisals by the government’s chief appraiser.

It is still unclear which agency will handle the compensation. In an October 22 letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Frank Rusa, Acting Director of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), said the Authority is unable to identify, validate and compensate or relocate the affected persons.

Mr Kabuye Kyofatogabye, the Minister of State for Kampala Affairs, claims that all those affected will be compensated.

“All 446 households plus the 100 affected by the floods will be paid. No one will be driven from their land, but for now we say: get out of those houses to avoid a catastrophe. I’m not going to take anyone’s land, I’m just trying to save your life,” he said.

When Monitor visited the area, earth-moving equipment was still working through the rubbish hill, where some of the missing persons, mainly rubbish pickers, are believed to be buried. Elsewhere, other excavators were digging drains to release floodwaters.

Minister Kyofatogabye said collection efforts will likely be halted at the end of this month.

“There are still between eight and eleven people missing, and efforts are still continuing, but due to the nature of the waste, the heat and the reactions, we have no hope of finding them, because there is also a lot of heat… we can decide to have a memorial prayer and we dedicate the souls of them, because we did everything we could,” he said.

He also warned those who have returned to the houses in the buffer zone to leave. “As I speak now, another tragedy may occur because there are new cracks on the other side of the heap, which may now affect the eastern side, especially the villages of Kiteezi… it can be managed and prevented the collapse while we wait until an investor decommissions it,” Mr Kyofatogabye said.

Dismantling the landfill Officials say the dismantling of the landfill will take about six months. KCCA had earlier requested Shs36b for the decommissioning activities.

But in the aftermath of the collapse, Shs16b was allocated for immediate interventions, including supporting temporary dumps, stabilizing the Kiteezi slopes and acquiring 200 hectares.