FDC turns heat on Museveni over Kiteezi landfill tragedy

The opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party says the political leadership of KCCA is blaming the wrong people over the tragic Kiteezi landfill collapse.
 The Katonga Road-based faction of the party said if there is anyone to be held responsible for what happened in Kiteezi, it should be President Museveni who took over the administration of Kampala.

 Mr Ibrahim Semujju Nganda, the faction spokesperson, in a press briefing at their offices, yesterday said: “In 2010, Mr Museveni changed the law and enacted through Parliament, the KCC Act, [that] gave [President] Museveni direct responsibility over the city and Kiteezi was one of those things that he was seeking to take over.”

 “He said he would be the one managing the city directly through a Minister for Kampala and an Executive Director. If there is anyone who should be held responsible for what happened in Kiteezi, it must be Museveni who took over the administration of Kampala,” he added.

 They also accused KCCA of having ignored several red flags before the incident that took place on Saturday.
 Mr Semujju called on the government to swiftly compensate the victims.  President Museveni has already directed the elite UPDF Special Forces Command to assist in the rescue.
  The Katonga Road-based faction said the disaster was a direct result of negligence and poor waste management by the authorities.

 The police yesterday confirmed 21 bodies had been retrieved, more than 14 victims rescued with several more feared buried under debris. Several livestock were also killed, and properties worth millions lost following the collapse of the landfill.
 FDC says the victims deserve immediate financial support and justice.

 Mr Semujju said:  “We need to construct a new landfill away from people and the government must ensure people don’t go and settle there the same way they have done at Kiteezi.”
Similarly, Ms Doreen Nyanjura, the KCCA Deputy Lord Mayor, also said the political leadership of KCCA is blaming the wrong people.

 “As you know, we run the city on behalf of the central government. If you look at the funding that is given, it’s very little, the Shs4.1 billion, which is sent to Kiteezi,” she said.
 “We have been saying that place was to be decommissioned in 2015. So as the political leaders in Kampala, we were ignored. But we are not going to keep lamenting. We’re going to have a crisis meeting and a number of them have already been taking place,” she added.