Entebbe Municipality Mayor Fabrice Rulinda has given Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) an ultimatum of four days to use the Nkumba-Bufulu landfill for garbage disposal. After this period, KCCA must find an alternative location to dump the garbage collected in Kampala.
Rulinda emphasized that this is a temporary emergency solution and called for non-political handling of the situation. “I saw on NTV the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago saying I refused to meet him because of political differences, but this is a national emergency, not a political issue,” Rulinda stated.
After holding an emergency council meeting, Rulinda and the council decided to allow KCCA to use their landfill until Monday. “Entebbe’s landfill is not capable of handling the volumes produced by Kampala. We manage between 50 to 150 metric tonnes of garbage daily, while KCCA generates 2,500 tonnes. That is far beyond our capacity,” he added.
The council’s decision followed a closed-door meeting on Friday where KCCA’s request for temporary solid waste disposal at Nkumba was discussed. Earlier in the week, Rulinda had halted further dumping by KCCA after the authority failed to seek permission to use the landfill, which is close to Lake Victoria, raising environmental concerns.
Deputy Executive Director of KCCA, David Luyimbazi, met with Rulinda on Wednesday to deliver a letter from KCCA Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka, requesting permission to use the site for three months. Luyimbazi noted the challenges posed by the volume of garbage, potential environmental damage, and concerns over the impact on aviation safety due to the attraction of Marabou storks.
Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) spokesperson Vianney Luggya echoed these concerns, stating that birds near the airport pose a significant threat to aviation safety. “Birds can enter aircraft engines or collide with planes, which can cause fatal damage,” Luggya said. He added that UCAA has been working to educate local communities near the airport on better waste management practices to reduce bird attraction.
