A year on, Ugandans still suffering from deadly garbage collapse
Nansamba, 31, grabbed her children and ran. She was luckier than most -- the avalanche of waste killed some 35 people before stopping at her doorstep.
Many survivors of the collapse at the Kiteezi dump on August 9, 2024, have yet to be compensated for their losses, leaving them trapped at the dangerous garbage site.
"We are living a miserable life," Nansamba told AFP.
Kiteezi is the largest landfill in Kampala, serving the city's residents since 1996, receiving 2,500 tonnes of waste daily.
City authorities recommended closing it when it reached capacity in 2015, but garbage kept coming.
The disaster highlighted the challenge of managing waste in many rapidly urbanising African cities.
A 2017 landfill collapse in Ethiopia killed 116 people. A year later, 17 died after heavy rain caused a landslide at a dump in Mozambique.
It doesn't help that wealthier countries send vast amounts of waste to Africa, particularly second-hand clothes, computers and cars.
In 2019, the United States exported some 900 million items of second-hand clothing to Kenya alone, more than half designated as waste, according to Changing Markets Foundation, an advocacy group.
The Kiteezi collapse "could have been avoided", said Ivan Bamweyana, a scholar of geomatics at Kampala's Makerere University.
For a decade, he said, the landfill grew vertically until it reached a height of some 30 metres (98 feet).
Early on the fateful morning, rain seeped into the landfill's cracks, causing a fatal cascade.
"What is coming can still be avoided," Bamweyana said, of the continued risks at the site.
Another crash?
The landfill continues to emit methane gas, which caused fires in February and June.
While no longer in official use, locals sneak up its slopes to eke out a living collecting plastic bottles to sell.
"I would not be shocked if there was a secondary crash," Bamweyana said.
Official figures of the number of homes destroyed vary, but it is certain that dozens disappeared in the initial incident, with more totalled during the hunt for bodies.
A Red Cross spokesperson said many of the 233 people displaced have still not received compensation.
Shadia Nanyongo's home was buried and she now shares a single room with six other family members.
The 29-year-old told AFP she had still not been compensated. The family eats one meal a day and at night squeezes together on two mattresses on the floor.
"I pray to God to come with money, because this situation is not easy," Nanyongo said.
Her friend, fellow survivor Nansamba, still lives on the edge of the landfill.
The stench of garbage fills her house and the area is infested with vermin. She said her children get bacterial infections at least three times a month.
Nansamba would like to move but cannot afford to unless the government, which promised compensation, pays out for other houses she owned and rented out and lost in the disaster. Her own house was not destroyed.
Memories of the collapse keep her up at night. "You hear dogs barking... you think ghosts have come," she said.
'Hurriedly and illegally'
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) told AFP that compensation would be paid out in September and a new landfill site had been chosen in Mpigi district, around 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the city centre.
KCCA says everything has been done legally, but the National Forestry Authority (NFA) told AFP that the new garbage site infringes on a protected forest and wetlands reserve and that city authorities began dumping at the site in late 2024 without their knowledge.
"They did it hurriedly (and) illegally," said NFA spokesperson Aldon Walukamba.
The city is home to some 1.7 million, according to last year's census, and continues to grow -- meaning such trade-offs between trash and the environment will likely continue.
For Bamweyana, the scholar, what is needed is education about waste and recycling.
"We cannot keep solving the problem using the same mechanism that created it," he said.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Families mourn 40 years since deadly Japan Airlines crash
On August 12, 1985, the doomed Boeing 747 was around 40 minutes into an hour-long flight from Tokyo to Osaka, when it crashed into a mountain about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of the capital. Tuesday saw hundreds of people -- including bereaved families and friends -- hike the trails up to the cenotaph erected on Mount Osutaka where the jet crashed. Among them was a woman who lost her younger brother in the accident. "I want to tell him that all of his family members are alive, with his soul on our shoulders", she told broadcaster Fuji TV. "We're doing our best to live our lives". Japan Airlines Flight 123 lost control soon after take-off, with a loud noise heard about 10 minutes into the trip and an emergency declared, before shaking violently and crashing. The plane was almost full, with many holidaymakers flying back to their hometowns during Japan's "obon" mid-summer festival. In the end, 505 passengers -- including a dozen infants -- and 15 crew members perished. Just four passengers survived. Imperfect repairs to the aircraft's rear bulkhead by Boeing engineers seven years earlier -- coupled with JAL's subsequent lack of oversight -- were blamed for the accident. Numerous, tiny cracks on the bulkhead -- unnoticed on prior flights -- burst, destroying a tail fin, rupturing hydraulic systems and sending the plane hurtling downward. The world's worst airline disaster was the 1977 runway collision of two 747s on Tenerife in the Canary Islands that left 583 dead. More recently in Japan, a near-catastrophic collision occurred at Haneda airport between a Japan Airlines aircraft and a smaller coast guard plane in January 2024. All 379 people on board the JAL Airbus escaped just before the aircraft was engulfed in flames, but five of the six people on the smaller aircraft died.
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
A year on, Ugandans still suffering from deadly garbage collapse
Then came screams and a giant wave of garbage rushing towards her, ripping up trees as it went. Nansamba, 31, grabbed her children and ran. She was luckier than most -- the avalanche of waste killed some 35 people before stopping at her doorstep. Many survivors of the collapse at the Kiteezi dump on August 9, 2024, have yet to be compensated for their losses, leaving them trapped at the dangerous garbage site. "We are living a miserable life," Nansamba told AFP. Kiteezi is the largest landfill in Kampala, serving the city's residents since 1996, receiving 2,500 tonnes of waste daily. City authorities recommended closing it when it reached capacity in 2015, but garbage kept coming. The disaster highlighted the challenge of managing waste in many rapidly urbanising African cities. A 2017 landfill collapse in Ethiopia killed 116 people. A year later, 17 died after heavy rain caused a landslide at a dump in Mozambique. It doesn't help that wealthier countries send vast amounts of waste to Africa, particularly second-hand clothes, computers and cars. In 2019, the United States exported some 900 million items of second-hand clothing to Kenya alone, more than half designated as waste, according to Changing Markets Foundation, an advocacy group. The Kiteezi collapse "could have been avoided", said Ivan Bamweyana, a scholar of geomatics at Kampala's Makerere University. For a decade, he said, the landfill grew vertically until it reached a height of some 30 metres (98 feet). Early on the fateful morning, rain seeped into the landfill's cracks, causing a fatal cascade. "What is coming can still be avoided," Bamweyana said, of the continued risks at the site. Another crash? The landfill continues to emit methane gas, which caused fires in February and June. While no longer in official use, locals sneak up its slopes to eke out a living collecting plastic bottles to sell. "I would not be shocked if there was a secondary crash," Bamweyana said. Official figures of the number of homes destroyed vary, but it is certain that dozens disappeared in the initial incident, with more totalled during the hunt for bodies. A Red Cross spokesperson said many of the 233 people displaced have still not received compensation. Shadia Nanyongo's home was buried and she now shares a single room with six other family members. The 29-year-old told AFP she had still not been compensated. The family eats one meal a day and at night squeezes together on two mattresses on the floor. "I pray to God to come with money, because this situation is not easy," Nanyongo said. Her friend, fellow survivor Nansamba, still lives on the edge of the landfill. The stench of garbage fills her house and the area is infested with vermin. She said her children get bacterial infections at least three times a month. Nansamba would like to move but cannot afford to unless the government, which promised compensation, pays out for other houses she owned and rented out and lost in the disaster. Her own house was not destroyed. Memories of the collapse keep her up at night. "You hear dogs barking... you think ghosts have come," she said. 'Hurriedly and illegally' Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) told AFP that compensation would be paid out in September and a new landfill site had been chosen in Mpigi district, around 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the city centre. KCCA says everything has been done legally, but the National Forestry Authority (NFA) told AFP that the new garbage site infringes on a protected forest and wetlands reserve and that city authorities began dumping at the site in late 2024 without their knowledge. "They did it hurriedly (and) illegally," said NFA spokesperson Aldon Walukamba. The city is home to some 1.7 million, according to last year's census, and continues to grow -- meaning such trade-offs between trash and the environment will likely continue. For Bamweyana, the scholar, what is needed is education about waste and recycling. "We cannot keep solving the problem using the same mechanism that created it," he said. © 2025 AFP
France 24
05-08-2025
- France 24
Titanic sub disaster caused by operator failures: probe
The US Coast Guard investigation outlined a litany of issues with OceanGate's operations, as well as design flaws on its Titan submersible, that led to the high-profile disaster in which all five passengers were killed. The probe said "OceanGate's failure to follow established engineering protocols for safety, testing, and maintenance of their submersible, was the primary causal factor" for the implosion. It also accused the company of "intimidation evade regulatory scrutiny." OceanGate had a "toxic workplace environment which used firings of senior staff members and the looming threat of being fired to dissuade employees and contractors from expressing safety concerns," the report said. Explorers and tourists Company chief executive Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman died when the submersible failed on its expedition in the North Atlantic Ocean. After a loss of communications with the sub, a multinational search for survivors started, captivating the world. But occupants "were exposed to approximately 4,930 pounds per square inch of water pressure" when the hull collapsed, resulting in "instantaneous death," the report said. Debris was found on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the bow of the Titanic. In its report, the Coast Guard said that OceanGate continued to use Titan "after a series of incidents that compromised the integrity of the hull and other critical components of the submersible without properly assessing or inspecting the hull." It also identified design flaws with Titan's carbon fiber hull "that weakened the overall structural integrity." The wreckage of the Titanic sits 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland and has become a lure for nautical experts and underwater tourists since its discovery in 1985. The ship hit an iceberg and sank in 1912 during its maiden voyage from England to New York, with 2,224 passengers and crew on board. More than 1,500 people died.
