Business
Govt orders Kampala traders to leave arcade basements immediately
“When approving architectural plans of these buildings, the basements were supposed to be parking, but people turned them into shops,” ICT and National Guidance Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba told the press at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday (November 10).
Lumumba also said Cabinet noted that those who built on Allen Road, which is situated between Shauri Yako Market and the New Taxi Park in downtown Kampala, blocked the floodwater channels, causing floods.
By: Umar Kashaka, Journalist @New Vision
KAMPALA - The Government has ordered Kampala city traders who have converted parking or basements at their premises into shops to vacate immediately or face forceful eviction.
“When approving architectural plans of these buildings, the basements were supposed to be parking, but people turned them into shops,” ICT and National Guidance Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba told the press at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday (November 10).
She was communicating decisions made during Monday’s Cabinet meeting at State House, Entebbe.
“So, when water entered the buildings (during last year’s floods), instead of vehicles, the rescue teams found human beings with their merchandise. With this fresh order, all those who are working in the arcade basements, which are supposed to be for parking, are supposed to leave immediately,” the minister ordered.
She also said Cabinet noted that those who built on Allen Road, which is situated between Shauri Yako Market and the New Taxi Park in downtown Kampala, blocked the floodwater channels, causing floods.
“Those who have built on Allen Road have removed the drainage so the water has nowhere to pass and has to find its way into the buildings.
“So, when water entered the buildings (during last year’s floods), instead of vehicles, the rescue teams found human beings with their merchandise. With this fresh order, all those who are working in the arcade basements, which are supposed to be for parking, are supposed to leave immediately,” the minister ordered.
She also said Cabinet noted that those who built on Allen Road, which is situated between Shauri Yako Market and the New Taxi Park in downtown Kampala, blocked the floodwater channels, causing floods.
“Those who have built on Allen Road have removed the drainage so the water has nowhere to pass and has to find its way into the buildings.
To address such cases, the Office of the Prime Minister, together with Kampala Capital City Authority, the Ministry of Water and the Ministry of Works, has been given the responsibility to come up with a work plan in a well-coordinated manner and reverse all this,” Lumumba said.
The work plan, she said, will be presented to Cabinet within the next month,” she added.
The floods that struck between October 30 and October 31, 2025, principally affected 13 arcades and St. Balikuddembe Market, commonly known as Owino.
Most affected locations were: Nana Arcade, Totala Building, Capital Centre, Pentagon Plaza, French Plaza, Premier Arcade, Qualicel Mall, Freedom Centre, Nabukeera Plaza, Ssekaziga Arcade, JesCo Centre, Jamboole Arcade, Tuba Plaza, Owino Market and Shauriyako Building.
The work plan, she said, will be presented to Cabinet within the next month,” she added.
The floods that struck between October 30 and October 31, 2025, principally affected 13 arcades and St. Balikuddembe Market, commonly known as Owino.
Most affected locations were: Nana Arcade, Totala Building, Capital Centre, Pentagon Plaza, French Plaza, Premier Arcade, Qualicel Mall, Freedom Centre, Nabukeera Plaza, Ssekaziga Arcade, JesCo Centre, Jamboole Arcade, Tuba Plaza, Owino Market and Shauriyako Building.