Katanga is one of the slums in Kampala located in the City Centre East of Makerere University and West of Mulago National Referral hospital.
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On top of being one of the most populous areas in the city, it is also one of the most polluted with drainage channels overflowing with plastic waste.
I went to Katanga in a cool Thursday Morning and here is what I found.
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Katanga; The environmental crime scene
I made a survey and moved around Katanga but the situation blew my mind due to the situation they are in.
What welcomes one visiting the slum is the emitting strong offensive odor that comes from the slim channels weaved between the informal semi-permanent structures. They are open sewage having water that is left sitting for a long period of time and it’s unable to flow or drain away properly.
The residents living in Katanga say that the stagnant water stays there until heavy rains and floods and disperse sewage. The people here (Children, youth, elders) are exposed to this dirty water and garbage that is littered everywhere leading to different diseases.
Residents living in Katanga slum say that they have no hope for a better life because of the poor standard of living. They blame Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for not doing enough to see that both the sewage and garbage are cleared from this place.
All efforts to reach Kampala capital city authority for comment on this story were futile.