By Elijah Khisa
Residents of Makerere I Parish in Kawempe Division have raised concern over the escalating cases of bedbug infestation in their communities, calling on Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to conduct a mass spraying exercise to eliminate the pests.
The residents made the appeal on Saturday, October 10, 2026, during the KCCA Weyonje community cleaning campaign held in the parish and led by the authority’s Executive Director, Hajjat Sharifah Buzeki, alongside key political and technical officials from City Hall.
The Makerere I Parish councillor, Enock Jjingo, led a delegation of KCCA officials on a guided tour of households in Mukwenda, Mukubira and Mini Triangle zones to assess the extent of bedbug infestation and other related pest challenges affecting residents.
The delegation included Dr Zalwango, the KCCA public health executive secretary in the office of the Lord Mayor, Dr Judith Nalukwago, and Kawempe South Constituency Lord Councillor Ali Musa Ssegane, among others.
Speaking after the inspection in Mukwenda Zone, Dr Zalwango said she was shocked to discover that many households were silently struggling with bedbug infestations and other pests, which she said posed a serious challenge to residents’ health, safety and well-being.
She said KCCA was concerned about the growing frequency of bedbug infestations in urban communities and disclosed that the authority had assembled a technical vector control team to address the problem.
The team, led by KCCA Vector Control Officer Patrick Kyagamba, is expected to conduct systematic household spraying exercises across the city divisions as part of efforts to control the infestation.
Dr Nalukwago commended Jjingo and Ssegane for lobbying KCCA to extend the Weyonje campaign to Makerere I Parish, saying such initiatives were important in improving sanitation and addressing public health challenges in communities.
Ssegane said local leaders would continue engaging KCCA authorities at City Hall to ensure that the fight against bedbug infestation was sustained alongside efforts to improve the delivery of essential social services.
He called for continued collaboration between residents and city authorities to address challenges affecting communities in Kawempe and other parts of Kampala.
Jjingo, who also chairs the Kawempe Division Committee on Human Resource Administration and Works, pledged to strengthen community sensitisation programmes on hygiene and sanitation.
He said local leaders would work with residents to build their capacity to maintain cleaner homes and neighbourhoods as part of broader efforts to improve public health and sanitation standards across the parish.
