In Kampala when it rains it pours. That means when it floods entire areas of the city fall apart. Aside from people being washed away and drowning, and houses collapsing under the weight of the water, the top cause of deaths during floods is electrocution.
The water saturates the ground and then draws up the walls, doors and across the ceiling. From there it moves in to the electrical wiring. The unsuspecting person arrives home and (if they still have power) turn on their lights. At that point their entire house becomes a conductor.
With the many deaths in the city, I was surprised the focus of an article on the floods was the inconvenience the flooding caused President Museveni. Many of the roads around the lower areas of the city were flooded with 2-3 feet of water – water that accumulated within a few hours. Museveni’s motorcade was stopped for 15 minutes on his way to the airport. A 15 min delay and it makes the news. Apparently he got out, looked around, pointed to all the rubbish and said it was the trash that caused the drains to be blocked.
Too bad there isn’t much infrastructure for litter removal. With the exception of CHOGM preparations, where certain city streets are cleaned regularly, the litter just piles up. I haven’t seen a single garbage can, in a shop or on the street, since I have arrived. There is also no ability to recycle, so plastic bottles are everywhere.
Unfortunately as the flood water resides, likely so will any public desire to keep the streets clean.
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