Kiteezi Tragedy: Police Stuck with Seven unclaimed Bodies

The Uganda Police Force (UPF) is reportedly stuck with seven unclaimed bodies from the Kiteezi landfill collapse. As of Sunday, police reported that 21 bodies had been retrieved during the second day of rescue operations, conducted jointly by the Police, Ministry of Works, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), and the Red Cross. 

Police Spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner of Police Kituuma Rusoke, stated that out of the 21 retrieved bodies, only 14 have been handed over to families for burial. Kituuma explained that seven bodies remain unclaimed at the Mulago City Mortuary, and they are waiting for the families to come forward, even as they anticipate more bodies may be found as the rescue operations continue at the collapsed Kiteezi landfill.

"Our teams are still on the ground, trying to retrieve more trapped people, whether survivors or deceased. We have seven bodies still at the mortuary, but we haven't seen their families," Kituuma said. He added that they remain hopeful that the relatives will come forward to claim the bodies, noting that there is no need for DNA testing, as the bodies were not burned or in a decomposed state.

President Yoweri Museveni addressed the tragedy on his X account (formerly Twitter), directing the State House Comptroller to provide financial assistance to the families of the deceased, offering five million shillings per person and one million shillings to those injured.