Kampala market vendors urged on maintaining hygiene

KAMPALA - Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) executive director Hajati Sharifah Buzeki has appealed to vendors to maintain hygiene, especially in the newly constructed modern markets around the city.

She says proper hygiene is crucial in ensuring food safety for the city dwellers who are their customers and preventing the spread of foodborne disease and other health risks.

Buzeki was on July 5, 2025, speaking to vendors in the newly inaugurated state-of-the-art facility near Busega Roundabout, adjacent to the Entebbe Expressway and Kampala-Mityana Road, which was described by the authority as a monumental city market that has a 4,000-vendor capacity for low-income earners.

Nuwe-Abine said most vendors expressed joy that they are now working in a clean environment without any charge. (All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba)

The market is providing free organised trading spaces to traders who were initially crowding and jamming the Busega area and walkways, obstructing efficient flow of traffic and pedestrians.

The project was funded through a partnership between the Government of Uganda and the Arab Bank for Development in Africa (BADEA) at a cost of sh23.8b. 

According to Buzeki, vendors must maintain key hygiene practices like handwashing, proper food handling and storage, maintaining clean surfaces and equipment, and effective waste management, which she said would protect both vendors and customers from foodborne illnesses and other health risks.

A market vendor operating in a well-organised environment.

Buzeki physically participated in the cleanup exercise dubbed “Weyonje”, which literally refers to self-cleanup, helping to unclog trenches and collecting littered waste around the market.

Buzeki was accompanied by her deputy, Benon Kigenyi and the directors for public health and for gender.

She emphasised proper sanitation, food hygiene and a cleaner market, and urged the cleaning contractor, Detail Cleaning Services Ltd, to ensure the toilets are free and always clean for all vendors and customers. 

The executive director of KCCA, Hajati Sharifah Buzeki, participating in the cleanup exercise dubbed 'weyonje' in Busega market recently.

Vendors operating in Busega new market.

Authority spokesperson Daniel Muhumuza Nuwe-Abine, said Buzeki was on her routine inspection of markets to ensure the vendors maintain cleanliness and proper hygiene.

“She emphasised that vendors must keep the market clean all the time and ensure their workplaces are cleared of garbage,” he said, adding that according to the KCCA instructions, all people working in the markets must dispose of garbage through separating degradable and nondegradable garbage in what they refer to as sorting. 

At the end of her tour, the ED encouraged the public to purchase from the market and avoid buying from the roadsides to avoid getting contaminated or improperly handled foodstuffs.

Vendors in the banana-selling section.

According to Nuwe-Abine, the ED also wanted to verify whether the right vendors are operating in the market and that proper registration of vendors was done.

“Although the registration exercise was properly done, she still urged the Market Masters to be on the lookout and ensure that if the stall is locked for more than three months, it should be processed and allow another person to avoid multiple ownership,” he explained.

He said most vendors expressed joy that they are now working in a clean environment without any charge.

“Vendors are operating in the market at no charge at all. We have not yet started charging them; that is why we do not allow anyone to own more than one stall,” he explained.