Landslide at Uganda rubbish dump kills at least 18 people

A landslide at a rubbish dump in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, has killed at least 18 people, authorities have reported as they continue to search for survivors.

Police announced the death toll on Sunday, two days after torrential rain broke off a huge chunk of rubbish at Kiteezi, the city’s only landfill site. The landslide buried people, livestock, and homes as residents slept.

Authorities had reported eight confirmed deaths on Saturday, but the number of casualties has risen as rescuers dig for survivors.

Authorities said on Sunday that the death toll had risen to 18, according to the Associated Press.

“The rescue operation is still ongoing until we are sure no one is trapped,” police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said, according to AFP.

Fourteen people have been rescued as well as several animals, he added, cautioning that more people could still be trapped.

“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,” he said.

The Uganda Red Cross said tents have been set up near the site for those displaced by the landslide.

Kiteezi has served as Kampala’s sole rubbish dump for decades, which has turned it into a giant hill. Residents have often complained about hazardous waste polluting the environment and posing a danger.

Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago said on Saturday that the landfill was at capacity. “This is a disaster and was bound to happen,” he said.

Similar incidents have taken place around sub-Saharan Africa due to poorly managed mountains of rubbish.

In 2017, at least 115 people were killed in Ethiopia, crushed by a landslide at a landfill in Addis Ababa.

In Mozambique, at least 17 people died in a similar disaster in Maputo in 2018.