The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, deplored the loss of life following a landslide at a rubbish dump in Uganda on Friday.

«Shocked by the devastating loss of life following a landslide at a rubbish dump in Kampala, we send our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of the victims and in solidarity with the government and people of Uganda,» Mahamat wrote on his X social media account.

According to official Ugandan sources, 21 dead, including two minors, and 15 injured is the preliminary toll of the landslide caused by the heavy rains that have been lashing Kampala for days and which added weight to the mountains of rubbish accumulated at the Kiteezi landfill site.

The dump, near which shanty houses have recently sprung up, is visited every day by dozens of people who rummage through the rubbish in search of metals, rags, cardboard and other waste to sell to companies that recover raw materials.

On social media, President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an investigation into the causes of the disaster and an answer as to why housing was allowed to be built near «an unstable mountain of rubbish».