In a devastating incident that has shocked Kampala, the Kiteezi Landfill collapsed over the weekend, burying homes and claiming the lives of 23 people, with many others still unaccounted for.
The disaster has sparked widespread outrage, as the public grapples with the horrifying consequences of negligence on the part of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and its Executive Director, Dorothy Kisaka.
A month before the collapse, a memorandum from the KCCA’s Directorate of Public Health and Environment Dr Daniel Ayen Okello wrote to Kisaka and her deputy David Luyimbazi warning of the imminent dangers at the Kiteezi Landfill.
Dated July 2, 2024, the memo which was received by Kisaka’s office two days later, highlighted severe operational challenges at the landfill due to overcapacity, which had led to the formation of waste cliffs and unstable slopes.
The document outlined several recent emergencies, including cracks and waste slides observed in the northeastern part of the landfill on June 28, 2024.
Additionally, the main drainage channel had been blocked by waste movement, leading to leachate flooding in a nearby neighborhood farm.
The memo emphasized the depletion of the operational area, which had been compromised due to the ongoing issues.
Crucially, the memorandum explicitly warned about the potential consequences of failing to take immediate action.
It noted that waste slides or a complete landfill collapse could result in loss of life and significant property damage.
Furthermore, it cautioned that such an event would likely lead to litigation, resulting in substantial financial losses for the KCCA.
The memo also mentioned the possibility of halted waste dumping operations, which could provoke public demonstrations and lead to the emergence of illegal dumping sites, further exacerbating the situation.
Despite these clear and urgent warnings, no significant action was taken to address the issues at the landfill by Kisaka and her administration.
The neglect of these warnings is made even more egregious by the existence of earlier research that predicted this very disaster.
In 2015, a team of researchers from Makerere University and the University of Cape Town conducted a study titled “Study of Slope Stability and Settlement Characteristics of Mpererwe Landfill.”
The study, led by Bernard Wasswa, Dickens Kakitahi, Samuel Jjuuko, and James Semuwemba from Makerere University, along with Denis Kalumba from the University of Cape Town, provided a detailed analysis of the risks associated with the landfill’s steep slopes.
The researchers used advanced numerical modeling software (PLAXIS 2D) to assess the stability of the landfill’s slopes and identified several critical areas where the slopes were dangerously steep, particularly a slope with an angle of 36 degrees.
The study warned that this angle was precarious, especially under conditions of poor drainage, which could significantly increase the risk of slope failure. Despite the clear findings and recommendations from this research, the KCCA ignored the warnings, allowing the landfill to continue operating under increasingly dangerous conditions.
The catastrophic collapse of the Kiteezi Landfill is not just a tragedy; it is a clear case of preventable disaster brought about by gross negligence.
The public’s shock and anger are palpable as they demand accountability for the lives lost and the homes destroyed.
Many are calling for the prosecution of KCCA Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka and her administration, arguing that their failure to act on the repeated warnings amounts to culpable negligence.
The fact that the risks were well-documented and that actionable steps could have been taken to prevent the disaster makes the KCCA’s inaction all the more unforgivable.
As rescue teams continue to search for survivors and recover bodies, the community is left to mourn the devastating loss of life and to question how such a disaster could have been allowed to happen.
Our efforts to reach KCCA ED Kisaka for a comment were futile by press time, as her known phone number couldn’t be reached.
