Garbage scavengers clash at Buyala

Non-residents who travel from different areas to Buyala village in Mpigi district to scavenge at the garbage site have raised concerns over being isolated by the leadership of  Buyala Waste Management Facility.

The over 1,300 non-residents, who travel from as far as Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono, claim that the Local Council 1 chairperson of Buyala village, Erycom Mutebi, demands that they pay sh25,000 for a village identification card, something they said they cannot afford.

Some of the KCCA trucks at Buyala site. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

The KCCA executive director, Hajati Sharifa Buzeki (2nd R), speaking to some of the representatives of companies competing to recycle Buyala garbage. This was at the site in Mpigi district. (Credit: Juliet Waiswa)

They also claimed that Mutebi told them that without the village identity card, they will not be allowed to scavenge at the facility.

The scavengers claimed that the village chairperson warned them against interacting with residents, something they said has affected their ability to stay at Buyala.

During a site visit conducted by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) officials and the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on October 16, non-resident scavengers complained that they have been isolated at the facility.

Some of the KCCA trucks at Buyala site. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

“We have tried to interact with our colleagues, but Chairman Mutebi has often told the residents negative stories about us,” one of the scavengers, who preferred anonymity, said

Mutebi, however, said he had requested the non-residents to have village identification cards for their safety, but they were hesitant.

The chairperson of the Buyala Community-Based Organisation (CBO), John Mbabazi, said non- residents were at first treated as outcasts, but were later accepted, adding that they are now known members of the community.

“Some of them are registered in our CBO, and we are trying to accept them; however, some of them just don’t want to be followed,” Mbabazi said.

The Buyala site in Mpigi district that was acquired by KCCA as a garbage dumping site. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

The committee on COSASE visited the facility following the Auditor General's report, which raised queries on the weighbridge and perimeter wall at the site.

The chairperson of COSASE, Nkunyingi Muwada, who is also the Member of Parliament for Kyadondo East, advised the residents to co-exist since they are in the same business.

Muwada also advised the area chairperson to listen to grievances of both parties.

The facility sits on 230 acres of land; KCCA is currently occupying 10 acres, with a total of 180 trucks dumping garbage at the site.