Mr David Ssekebba and his six siblings lost their mother and breadwinner, a brother and their home in the tragedy. Homeless and jobless, Ssekebba and his siblings now rely on supporters for shelter and food.

According to post mortem reports seen by MonitorHis mother, Jessica Nantege, who was sleeping when her house was buried under a pile of trash, died from a head injury following blunt force trauma. Mr Ssekebba’s brother, Timothy Kisule, died of traumatic asphyxiation.

A generic report from the city’s government-run mortuary indicated that the 35 victims of the landfill collapse “were asphyxiated by the garbage that covered them.”

“The uncertainty about what will happen weighs on me, even as I mourn my mother and brother,” Ssekebba said.

“We live in unpleasant conditions. At least while we were in the countryside, we all met in the same areas and easily went to a neighbor for psychosocial support,” added Joan Nabayiza, one of the brothers.

Ssekebba said his father, who did not live with them but was registered as the head of the family, disappeared with the 2 million shillings the government gave to each household, as well as the 10 million shillings for funeral arrangements. They said the government should compensate them for the lost house and property.

“My call is for the government to compensate us so we can leave and start our lives somewhere else. We are receiving different information from the government. KCCA said they were working on our problems, then last week the managing director said he was in charge. They say the Prime Minister is no longer in charge of our well-being. There are three months left and nothing has been comprehensively addressed, not even the recovery of the bodies,” Ssekebba said.

There are four categories of people affected: those who lost their loved ones and their property was buried under garbage; those who have been forced to abandon their homes due to flooding when garbage blocked all drainage systems; those whose homes the Prime Minister ordered demolished to create access routes for earth-moving equipment; and those in the 200-meter buffer zone who were ordered to leave their homes.

None of these categories have been compensated.

Mrs. Haula Nakitende lost her five-bedroom, five-rental home. He said the last time they interacted with the government was on October 18, but no definitive answers were given.

“All we need from the government is fair and timely compensation. We want to know when it will arrive. We never had problems with school fees. We never beg the government. The government owes us a debt, it is not doing us a favor. Are they waiting for us to demonstrate?” she said.

Ms Miria Nansubuga, who has lived in the area for 13 years, returned to her home, which is the buffer zone, after failing to find accommodation elsewhere.

“If the government really cares, let them stabilize the mountain of garbage. I am in the buffer zone, but I cannot leave before receiving compensation. My house is here (as in fact are) my rents, where I used to get money to pay the school fees of my eight children. Compensation must be fair because the cost of construction now is not like when we built,” he said.

People we spoke to oppose the relocation to Ddundu, Mukono, an idea that has been floated by some officials.

“Why don’t you compensate them and they choose where to go? Should we force them? There must be a work plan, but you can’t just tell people to go where they don’t feel comfortable,” said Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago.

On October 10, Lillian Aber, Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness, said compensation would be made after thorough assessments by the government’s chief assessor.

It is still unclear which office is in charge of compensation. In an October 22 letter to the Prime Minister, Frank Rusa, acting chief executive of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), says the Authority lacks the capacity to identify, validate and compensate or relocate affected people.

Kabuye Kyofatogabye, Minister of State for Kampala Affairs, maintains that all those affected will be compensated.

“The 446 households plus these 100 affected by the floods will be paid. No one is going to be expelled from their lands, but for now we say that they leave those houses to avoid a catastrophe. “I’m not going to take away anyone’s land, I’m just trying to save their lives,” he said.

When Monitor When he visited the area, the earthmoving team was still working on the garbage mound, where some of the missing people, mostly garbage collectors, are suspected to have been buried. Elsewhere, other excavators were digging drainage channels to release floodwaters.

Minister Kyofatogabye said recovery efforts will likely be called off at the end of this month.

“There are still between eight and 11 people missing and the efforts continue but due to the nature of the garbage, the heat and the reactions we have no hope that they will be found because there is also a lot of heat… we can decide to hold a memorial prayer and commit the souls of those because we have done everything we could,” he said.

He also warned those who have returned to homes in the buffer zone to vacate them. “As I speak, a new tragedy may occur because there are new cracks on the other side of the pile, which may now affect the eastern side, especially the Kiteezi villages… but efforts are being made to reduce the height of the pile so that it can be can manage and avoid collapse while we wait for an investor to dismantle it,” Kyofatogabye said.

Dismantling the landfill Officials say dismantling the landfill will take approximately six months. The KCCA had earlier requested Sh36 billion for decommissioning activities.

But following the collapse, 16b shillings were allocated for immediate interventions, including supporting temporary landfills, stabilizing Kiteezi slopes and acquiring 200 acres.