Uganda’s decision to designate the last Saturday of every month as National Cleaning Day is a commendable response to the country’s sanitation and public-health challenges. Kampala alone generates an estimated 2,000-2,500 tonnes of solid waste daily, yet only about 50-60 percent is collected and properly disposed of.
The uncollected waste often blocks drainage channels, pollutes communities and contributes to disease. The National Cleaning Day, therefore, provides an opportunity not only to clean communities, but also to build a culture in which citizens recognise cleanliness as a shared responsibility.
After three National Cleaning Days, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that the success of this initiative will require more than directives and enforcement. While some citizens have embraced the exercise, others have resisted participation, sought excuses to avoid it or viewed the restrictions as an inconvenience imposed by government.
Yet the benefits of cleaning drainage channels, removing waste from roadsides, and maintaining public spaces are enjoyed by everyone. A cleaner environment reduces health risks, improves communities, and can reduce flooding associated with blocked drainage. The long-term objective should, therefore, be mindset change: citizens should participate because they understand the benefits, not simply because security officers are present.
The government must also recognise that resistance is likely to increase when citizens do not fully understand the rules or perceive enforcement measures to be unfair.
The tragic shooting of 28-year-old boda boda rider Ronald Jjuuko Kizito during the second National Cleaning Day illustrates how quickly a well-intentioned environmental initiative can become associated with human rights violations. The circumstances remain a matter for investigation, but Parliament was told that the rider had been responding to a medical emergency when an altercation arose after he was stopped for allegedly violating movement restrictions.
A programme intended to create cleaner and more harmonious communities should not become a source of confrontation between citizens and the State.
Mindset change must also influence how citizens understand cleaning itself. Sweeping rubbish and leaving it by the roadside merely shifts the problem rather than solving it. Waste left uncollected can return to drainage channels and public spaces. National Cleaning Day must, therefore, involve the entire waste-management chain: cleaning, collection, transportation and proper disposal. Citizens have responsibilities, but local governments and responsible authorities must equally ensure that collected waste is promptly removed.
The Constitution provides a useful balance. Article 39 guarantees every person the right to a clean and healthy environment, while citizens have a corresponding duty to protect that environment. Article 25 also recognises reasonable communal or civic obligations. The National Cleaning Day can, therefore, promote legitimate civic responsibility. However, restrictions and enforcement must remain lawful, reasonable and proportionate, because they affect movement, businesses and livelihoods.
A clean Uganda will not be achieved through enforcement alone. It will be achieved when citizens understand that protecting the environment safeguards their health, strengthens their communities, and benefits the nation, and when government creates the systems that make responsible behaviour possible.