Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) cleaners took to the streets Wednesday to celebrate the dismissal of the top management team, accusing the leadership of neglecting their welfare.
The celebrations followed a Tuesday decision by President Museveni to sack key officials, including Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka, Deputy Director Eng. David Luyimbazi, and Director of Public Health Dr. Daniel Okello, after an Inspector General of Government (IGG) report implicated them in criminal negligence following the Kiteezi landfill disaster.
On Wednesday morning, several cleaners gathered at the Constitutional Square, holding placards and brooms, dressed in their cleaning uniforms, and began singing and celebrating, believing their struggles were finally over. A peaceful procession to City Hall was also planned to mark the removal of the allegedly ineffective leaders.
However, the cleaners’ celebration was short-lived as anti-riot police from the Central Police Station (CPS) intervened, ordering them to vacate Constitutional Square or face arrest. Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire explained that the group did not have permission to hold a public assembly.
This swift intervention by law enforcement brought the celebrations to an abrupt end. After being dispersed, the cleaners returned to their respective locations. Some cleaners, led by Bob Nyanzi, chairperson of the Rubaga Division Cleaners’ SACCO, explained that their celebration was to mark the end of a difficult period. They claimed they had gone months without payment during the tenure of Kisaka and Luyimbazi.
Nyanzi alleged that Kisaka’s leadership had been planning to phase them out illegally to make way for the Seven Hills Group, which emerged in March 2021 when KCCA launched its Smart City campaign, potentially taking over city cleaning jobs.
Akello Edith, a mother of two from Mbuya, expressed her frustration over the non-payment of their hard-earned wages during Kisaka and Luyimbazi’s leadership, saying it left many of them in dire financial situations.
“We have been going for months without paying our small money. Our children stopped going to school while theirs go to international schools. Thanks to the president’s decision to fire them. We hope for a better change in the incoming leadership,” Akello said.
Jaclyn Acen, another cleaner, appealed to KCCA’s incoming leadership to prioritize addressing unpaid salaries and urged the government to release the outstanding payments.
Kampala’s city cleaners have faced a prolonged struggle for their overdue wages, staging over four protests this year alone. However, their pleas have largely gone unanswered, with KCCA management citing a budget deficit for the 2023/24 financial year and delayed supplementary funds from the Ministry of Finance as the primary reasons for the non-payment.