KAMPALA – Dr. Denis Tukahikaho (Ph.D), an Environmental Management expert has said that the Saturday tragedy has exposed KCCA for neglect of duty and was outrageous as eight people, including two children, lost their lives when a KCCA garbage landfill in Kiteezi, Wakiso collapsed.
The tragic incident occurred in Kiteezi, a district in the northern part of Kampala, following heavy rainfall that triggered a landslide at the garbage dump.
According to him, the space is a dead zone in a human settlement, and “KCCA must pay through the nose to compensate families that lost property and lives and this is because this is a gross negligence on human lives.”
“KCCA is, therefore, given 72 hours to come up with a re-allocation plan or face serious demonstrations. People should not doubt to consider Kiteezi landfill as “dead” space, but it’s exactly that. The more trash and waste that has been flowing into this landfill has grown bigger and bigger, and it cannot contain waste disposal anymore. KCCA must create space only useful for waste and garbage, thus creating an area that serves no other purpose.”
Dr. Tukahikaho noted that residents from Kiteezi who live near the KCCA landfill have suffered all sorts of diseases caused by improperly processed waste and it’s easy to see how this impacts every person.
“The worsening of the environment stems partially from the mistreatment of waste, and ending any practices that contribute to extra waste can help save many lives and keep the world’s environment in a healthy place and for many people, the reduction of waste and commitment to handling waste properly is a daunting task. Some even feel that it’s too late and there’s no point. However, every change people make by properly disposing of waste can save lives and suffering in the future, even if it’s only a few people. Additionally, it increases the chance of something major changing and fixing the issue overall.”
He added, “Human rights and the environment are interdependent, a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is necessary for the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, such as the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation and development, among others. Human beings are indivisible, so human rights are considered interrelated, inter- dependent and mutually reinforcing as well. Realizing a clean, healthy and sustainable environment requires sustained efforts to keep working environments free from accidents, injuries and diseases; applying a “just transition” logic which avoids trade-offs between the human right to work and the human right to a healthy environment; and protect biodiversity by supporting indigenous peoples’ livelihoods.”
He reminded that Uganda is a signatory to Kyoto Protocol and it is a party to Paris Agreement which is an international treaty that was named for the city of Paris, France, in which it was adopted in December 2015, which aimed to reduce the emission and promote clean and safe
environment.
“For this matter, we are going to mobilize the people Uganda and kitezi in
particular to make sure KCCA complies with 72-hour ultimatum.”
“KCCA Must, declare to public a list of its internationally certified Enviromromental Practitioners and it must come up with an urgent plan within 72 hours to re-allocate the landfill. But still a team of environmental lawyers and human rights activists are being mobilized to save the people of Kitezi from trauma that has been caused by negligence on waste management and also, they must get their fair compensation due to lives and property that have been lost. “Join the race to make the world a better place.”