Three former city officials in Uganda have been charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence following a deadly landslide at a garbage dump in August.
The collapse in the northern Kampala district of Kiteezi buried 35 people, homes, and livestock in mountains of waste.
The three officials of the Kampala Capital City Authority were accused of 57 counts of manslaughter and criminal negligence, according to police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke.
They were remanded in prison until November 4 when they could apply for bail.
The officials were fired by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in September.
A conviction of manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under Ugandan law.
The landslide occurred on August 10 after heavy rains battered the East African country, causing widespread flooding and damage.
President Museveni had ordered payments to victims’ families, with five million Ugandan shillings ($1,300) for each fatality and one million shillings ($270) for each injured person.
The 36-acre landfill, established in 1996, handles almost all of Kampala’s garbage, approximately 1,500 tonnes per day.
The city’s mayor had warned in January about the health hazards posed by overflowing waste from the dump to nearby residents and workers.
