Six more bodies recovered as Kiteezi landfill collapse death toll reaches 30

At least six more bodies were retrieved on Wednesday, pushing the death toll from an August 10 garbage collapse at the Kiteezi dumpsite in Wakiso District to 30 so far, authorities said.

Speaking on day 5 of a continuing search operation, Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said at least 120 displaced people are currently sheltered in a temporary tent at a nearby school with at least 39 persons reported missing.

“Out of the 39 [missing], 35 are community members or residents and four are garbage collectors who came from various places,” he said on Wednesday.

Authorities are expecting the causality toll to grow further with concerns over a looming humanitarian situation marked by lack of hygiene and sanitation essentials. 

Preliminary police findings indicate that 33 homes are suspected to have been buried following the landslide at the landfill, according to Onyango.

“We are still verifying. The figure may go up or less,” he noted.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said 18 people had been rescued from the landfill since August 10.

However, more than 100 people became internally displaced after she ordered residents living 200 meters near the landfill to relocate.

"We're looking into plans of how we can resettle some of these affected people. We also have medium term plans of stabilizing the Kiteezi landfill so that another tragedy does not occur," Nabbanja told journalists.

Government is also moving towards enforcing a measure that will require urban dwellers to sort garbage from their homesteads, before it is collected by trucks for transportation to dumpsites. 

Meanwhile, at least 5 people have been arrested for impersonating as victims of the tragedy.

About the landfill  

Kiteezi landfill occupies 36-acre (14-hectare) and was established in 1996 as a dumpsite for all garbage collected across metro Kampala. It receives about 1,200 tonnes of waste a day.