Entebbe church collapse: 22 rescued as residents clash with police

At least 22 people have been rescued from the rubble of a four-storey church building that collapsed on Monday evening in Bwerenga, Katabi town council, Wakiso district.

The building, an extension of Holy City Church owned by ‘Brother’ Ronnie Makabai along Entebbe road, caved in while construction workers were on site, trapping an unknown number of people beneath the debris.

By 9 pm, police had confirmed that 22 survivors had been rescued and rushed to Entebbe Grade B Hospital for treatment, as a joint team comprising Police Fire and Rescue Services and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) continued searching for possible survivors.

As rescue operations continued, large numbers of residents gathered outside the cordoned-off site, demanding to be allowed in to search for their loved ones.

David Mulindwa, a construction worker at the site, said 15 of his close colleagues were inside the building when it collapsed.

“My friends, who are like my brothers, were on the site. I reached here at 7 pm, but police have blocked us from entering to help rescue our brothers. I am trying to call their phones, but they are off,” Mulindwa said.

Another worker, Alan Muganda, said he narrowly escaped the disaster after falling sick and staying home instead of reporting for work.

“I was sick today [Monday] and stayed home. Most of my colleagues, more than 30, were on site this evening. Some I was calling, and the phones were going through without anyone picking up,” Muganda said.

Tensions escalated as some residents clashed with security officers, insisting they could hear trapped victims calling for help beneath the rubble.

Police later called in additional soldiers to push back residents who attempted to force their way into the restricted area.

ASP Edith Natukunda, Entebbe community liaison officer, said the public had to be kept away to allow investigators to examine the scene.

“People are so many, and they have become very tense. So we have to send them away as a way of preserving the scene of crime. At the moment, the regional CID and other scene of crime officers are still coming,” Natukunda said.

She said additional excavators were being mobilised from the United Nations headquarters in Entebbe, while Uganda Red Cross teams were expected to support the rescue operation.

The equipment was expected to help remove heavy concrete slabs as rescuers searched for people who might still be alive beneath the debris.

Police said investigations into the circumstances surrounding the collapse were ongoing, while the number of people who remained trapped, if any, had not yet been established.

The collapse adds to a series of building failures reported in the Kampala Metropolitan Area, raising renewed concerns about construction standards, professional supervision and enforcement of building regulations.

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