Four months after garbage disaster, Kiteezi turns into ghost town

On a Saturday afternoon, he sits next to the remaining part of the Kiteezi landfill lamenting over the tragedy that struck on August 10.

A lot of things changed after that incident; he told this reporter at the weekend. The calamity led to the loss of more than 30 people and destroyed millions of properties. Among the changes that transpired after the collapse of the landfill included a move by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to discontinue their trucks from disposing of rubbish at the remaining part of the landfill, following a directive from the government.

KCCA trucks previously transported waste to Kiteezi, a dumping site established in 1996. The waste came from different collection points in Kampala and its suburbs.

The dump site eventually became overwhelmed, leading to its collapse, prompting city authorities to seek alternate
waste disposal options in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.

KCCA, on August 30, announced that it was temporarily redirecting garbage to three alternative sites in Katikolo, Menvu (in Nansana Municipality), and Nkumba near Entebbe Municipality, all in Wakiso District.

Recent reports, however, state that the diversion of waste disposal to the areas is still facing resistance as truck drivers are being turned away following KCCA’s failure to fence off the dumping sites and come up with practical measures to reduce the spread of diseases. 

What has changed in Kiteezi?
Before calamity struck, Kiteezi landfill was a goldmine for several residents like Mr Nabende. Amid all the discarded and rotting garbage, they found valuables, which were later sold and in return, they made some decent money. But ever since the trucks were directed to stop transporting rubbish to Kiteezi, Mr Nabende said the dumpsite no longer has any lucrative business.

“Life became very hard ever since those trucks were stopped from coming here,” he said, adding: “Before the tragedy happened, those KCCA vehicles would carry rubbish and whenever we sorted it out, we would find all kinds of valuables, including electronic equipment and plastics. We later sold these for profit. Business is now dead because trucks no longer come here.”

Just a few metres from Mr Nabende are five young men scavenging through a pile of old waste at the site, hoping to get something of great worth. One of the men, Mr Joseph Kiryowa, told this publication that although KCCA stopped disposing of rubbish at the site, it does not stop them from going to the site to dig through old waste with the hope of getting some tangible waste for sale.

“We still find mostly plastics, bottles, which we collect and later sell,” Mr Kiryowa said.

The plastics are mostly discarded by the businessmen and women of the area, who operate bars, restaurants, and shops in the area, the 20-year-old added. Even some households still dispose of their garbage at Kiteezi.

“And that is why I still come here with my friends. There are days we loiter around and find that residents have dumped a pile of rubbish. On checking, we find plastic bottles, which we get and keep collecting,” he explained.

But the money they get from selling of these few discarded waste products is very minimal. Mr Kiryowa says if he manages to collect a sack of empty plastic bottles, which can happen in a week, he can make between Shs5,000 and
Shs10,000.

Previously, this was what he would make in two days. Such minimal returns, Mr Kiryowa says, is
what forced some people to leave and try their luck elsewhere.

“The waste and disposal business is no longer thriving in the vicinity. Before, we could make this money in just a day. But you can’t imagine that we now make this in a week or even nothing,” he said.

Besides the exodus of the waste sorters, there are also people seeking residence in other are as outside Kiteezi out of fear that another calamity may befall them.

Some of these residents were staying within the dump site’s 200-metre buffer zone that the government had demarcated as dangerous and likely to counter dire consequences in case another landfill collapse happened.

This reporter, during her visit, noticed several tenants had vacated houses near the landfill. Following their departure, landlords have written their contacts on front doors, wall fences, and gates for those interested in the rentals to contact them.

Speaking to this publication, Mr Juma Musoke, a landlord in Kiteezi, whose houses were identified as being in the buffer zone, said all his 10 tenants left after the tragedy happened. Each tenant was paying him Shs200,000 a month,

“They told me they could no longer stay in a dangerous place,” he said. Mr Musoke has tried to get new tenants for
the houses in vain. Ms Irene Apio, another landlady whose self-contained rooms are also within the buffer zone, and charging tenants Shs150,000 as monthly rent, told this publication that people no longer want to stay in the area despite the affordable rent.

“Everyone just left like that out of fear and the enforcement from the government that was insisting that tenants vacate the place immediately for their safety,” she said.

Otherwise, Ms Apio said the place was thriving before tragedy struck, with a section of young people embracing the location because of the affordable accommodation.

“Now it is an opposite story, as many are shunning the place,” she said.
But even the remaining residents are living in fear. They are not at peace as they constantly
battle feelings of anxiety and worry.

“I stayed behind because I don’t have where to go,” Mr John Kabengwa, who has been living
in Kiteezi for the past 10 years, said.

Most of his neighbours, including some whose houses collapsed under the landfill, returned to their respective villages and elsewhere due to fear of another disaster.

But to Mr Kabengwa, returning to his village would mean taking 10 steps backward and starting all over again, something he cannot afford to do at the moment, especially because he has a wife and two children to look after.

The chairman of Lusanja, Kiteezi Parish, Mr Samuel Kibuuka, said Kiteezi is becoming a ghost town because people are shunning the area out of fear and uncertainty.

“During community engagements, residents always tell me they are afraid that the same tragedy or even something worse may befall this place,” he said.

The downside to the reduction in business in the area, Mr Musoke said, has increased the level of theft as some locals have now turned to stealing to survive.

With KCCA trucks no longer dumping rubbish at Kiteezi landfill, some of the garbage sorters are making arrangements with other disposing companies [not affiliated to KCCA] to transport their waste to the sidelines of the
site, which they can sort and get some valuables.

One of these garbage sorters, a mother of four, who spoke to this publication on condition of anonimity because the arrangements are illegal, said the way this arrangement works is they have contacts of respective truck drivers affiliated to different organisations who are always collecting waste from households around the city.

KCCA's plan for waste 
Cabinet previously made resolutions to disburse Shs16b for the acquisition of alternative land for the establishment of a waste management facility to address Kampala’s waste management crisis.

Kampala Capital City Authority thereafter issued an advertisement inviting potential bidders to express interest, with
clear specifications, including the land not being less than 200 acres and not located in protected areas like wetlands.

However, in September, Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago told journalists that he had invoked the powers of his office to
have the processes for the acquisition of alternative land halted until KCCA’s City Executive Committee, which he is part
of, was furnished with a comprehensive report on the procurement processes.

The developments come at a time when KCCA is also currently in the process of recruiting a new executive director following the dismissal of Ms Dorothy Kisaka and two other officials in September over their failure to resolve the waste
management at Kiteezi before calamity struck.