KCCA orders people in Kiteezi buffer zone to vacate 'immediately'

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After a fire broke out at the closed Kiteezi landfill early Saturday (February 8), Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) ordered the people occupying the 200-metre buffer zone around the landfill to "vacate immediately".

KCCA said this is to warrant their safety and that of property.

The government moved to decommission the landfill following the deadly August 2024 disaster that killed over 30 people.

However, some residents who were asked to relocate from the area kept pitching camp in dangerous zones demanding compensation before moving.

“Anyone who has returned to inhabit the demarcated 200-metre buffer zone around the Kiteezi landfill in the villages of Lusanjje, Kitetika and Kiteezi must vacate immediately,” said KCCA's acting deputy director of public and corporate affairs, Daniel Muhumuza Nuweabine.

He said the cause of the fire had not yet been established.

As that is being investigated, Nuwaebine said there have been cracks developing in the waste slides that can cause exposure to methane gas.

"Such exposure can potentially lead to fire outbreaks in hot weather."

KCCA urged the area leadership, security agencies and the public to ensure that the buffer zone is vacated for safety reasons.

"We do not want to witness another incident where people perish in the landfill [over reluctance to relocate]," said Nuweabine.

"We are working together with sister agencies like the Uganda Police to ensure that the fire is put out and communities are drawn away from the buffer zone to ensure their safety."

Until disaster struck last August, Kiteezi landfill in Kasangati town council in Wakiso district had been the primary waste disposal site for Kampala since 1997.

Over 2,500 tonnes of waste was dumped at the landfill every day.

Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago said the government delayed buying land to relocate the affected residents.

“We appeal to the Prime Minister on three areas of emergency response, medium-term intervention and long-term intervention. Procuring land is still a big challenge but people’s lives should never be taken for granted,” he said.
Lukwago added that there is need for quick intervention to compensate the stranded families to vacate the areas.

Following last year's disaster, President Yoweri Museveni directed the State House comptroller to financially assist the affected families with sh5m per person who died and sh1m per person who was injured.