Owino market traders seek guidance after court halts registration process

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Vendors at St. Balikuddembe (Owino) Market are seeking guidance from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) following a court ruling that halted the ongoing registration of traders in the market.

The affected traders, mostly tenants who had taken over stalls and lockups previously owned by landlords, are uncertain about the way forward. Their takeover was based on a presidential directive that disbanded traders' associations and stopped the payment of rent to landlords in government-owned markets like Owino.

Background

The saga began after President Yoweri Museveni issued a directive empowering KCCA to manage St. Balikuddembe Market. The directive also aimed to stop landlords, mostly traders who had acquired multiple stalls, from collecting rent from tenants.

Under this policy, KCCA allowed tenants to continue operating without paying rent. It also launched a fresh registration exercise to ensure equitable stall distribution, with a particular focus on reallocating stalls to low-income vendors who could not afford high rent fees.

President Museveni argued that markets should serve as economic incubators for the poor, not profit centres for landlords. He advised those with the financial capacity to invest in commercial arcades instead of public markets.

In line with this, KCCA prohibited tenants from paying rent to landlords and permitted them to take over the stalls. The authority stated that the landlord system in government markets had been abolished by presidential directive.

Legal dispute

This move infuriated landlords, many of whom had acquired their properties legally following an earlier government policy in 2010 that allowed private developers, including vendors’ associations, to form companies and manage the markets. These associations used that opportunity to construct stalls and lockups aimed at improving working conditions.

Dan Luswa, the former administrative director of SSLOA (a vendors’ association), explained that this policy had initially been introduced to curb abuse by city tycoons such as Hassan Basajjabalaba, who previously managed the markets.

The associations later bought parts of the market from the then-Kampala City Council (KCC, now KCCA) and began operating as landlords under the government’s guidance.

However, after disputes over rising rent fees and vendor complaints, the president reversed the policy, directing KCCA to abolish the landlord system and compensate those who had built permanent structures before reallocating them to tenants.

To implement this, KCCA resumed registration of all vendors, including tenants occupying privately built stalls. The landlords, displeased by this action, returned to court and filed a petition, demanding that the registration process be stopped until their original application seeking compensation or continued rent collection is resolved.

Court ruling

The court ruled in favour of the landlords, ordering KCCA to suspend the registration process until the first application is determined. This decision has thrown many tenants into confusion, unsure whether they should continue operating, pay rent, or vacate the stalls.

KCCA responds

When contacted, KCCA spokesperson Daniel NuweAbine urged vendors to remain calm and continue their business operations as usual.

“We are a law-abiding institution, and we will respect the court ruling. However, the court order only halts the registration process; it does not ask tenants to vacate their stalls or lockups,” NuweAbine explained. “Therefore, vendors should continue with their work as the court addresses the main application.