Kisekka traders demand land title
Sep 07, 2011
A group of traders from Kisekka Market in downtown Kampala last evening blocked roads bordering the market , demanding the land title of the market from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
By Taddeo Bwambale
A group of traders from Kisekka Market in downtown Kampala last evening blocked roads bordering the market , demanding the land title of the market from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
For about two hours, the traders stopped vehicles on Kyagwe Road as they erected a large banner above the roads, causing traffic build ups. The Police deployed heavily in the area to control the traders, who had started getting rowdy.
They claim to have paid over sh1.5b to then Kampala City Council (KCC) last year for the title, to pave way for the redevelopment of the market. The traders gave KCCA fourteen days to surrender the title to them.
The market is popular for trade in new and used vehicle spare parts and electrical appliances sold cheaply to customers locally, as well as Rwanda, Southern Sudan and Tanzania.
Speaking to the New Vision, the spokesman of the Nakivubo Road Old Kampala Kisekka Market Vendors Ltd (NROKKMVL), Peter Lubwama accused KCCA of ignoring their numerous requests for the title.
“We have written to the Kampala Executive director twice over the matter but she has not responded. We are concerned that KCCA has taken long to give us the title,†he said.
But the Kampala CEO, Jennifer Musisi said she had not yet received a report on Kisekka Market, and promised to follow up the matter.
The management of Kisekka market has been a long running dispute between KCC, the government and thousands of people operating in the market.
In 1999, Kampala City Council (KCC) and the vendors reached a lease agreement of 11 years, under which KCC allowed the traders to construct permanent structures. The lease was due to expire in 2011.
In 2007, KCC approved a joint venture between Rhino Investments, a private developer and New Nakivubo Road Market Vendors Association, to develop a sh13b six-storey modern shopping complex.
However, this sparked off riots among the traders who accused the redevelopers of not being genuine representatives of the traders. KCC went ahead approved and leased the Market to Rhino Investments and the vendors association, New Nakivubo Road Market Vendors Association, sparking another clash.
In February 2008, the then local government minister, Kahinda Otafire, set up a commission of inquiry into the matter.
One month later, President Yoweri Museveni directed that Rhino Investments to vacate the market. He also instructed the then Attorney General, Dr Khiddu Makubuya, to evaluate and compensate Col John Mugyenyi, the proprietor of the firm. Museveni also asked Makubuya to help the vendors form a legal entity to manage and redevelop the market.
Colonel John Mugyenyi returned the 49-year lease title in return for sh14.9b as compensation, and KCC agreed to lease the market to the vendors. Last month, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee queried the amount and summoned Makubuya to explain.
In 2009, the then Local government minister, Adolf Mwesige backed the idea that the Kisekka Market lease should be offered to Nakivubo Road Old Kampala (Kisekka) Market Vendors Ltd but divisions among the traders sparked off chaos around Kisekka market, which quickly spread to several city suburbs.
The market is a source of livelihood for over 10,000 people working as traders, dealers, mechanics brokers and food vendors. The market derives its name from the late Dr. Samson Kisekka, the first Vice-President under President Yoweri Museveni regime.
Initially, the market was a temporary business area for traders displaced by the construction of the New Taxi Park in 1994. But before the traders, the three-and-a-half acres of land was a bushy swamp, with marshy vegetation, recalls an elderly man in Old Kampala.
A group of traders from Kisekka Market in downtown Kampala last evening blocked roads bordering the market , demanding the land title of the market from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
For about two hours, the traders stopped vehicles on Kyagwe Road as they erected a large banner above the roads, causing traffic build ups. The Police deployed heavily in the area to control the traders, who had started getting rowdy.
They claim to have paid over sh1.5b to then Kampala City Council (KCC) last year for the title, to pave way for the redevelopment of the market. The traders gave KCCA fourteen days to surrender the title to them.
The market is popular for trade in new and used vehicle spare parts and electrical appliances sold cheaply to customers locally, as well as Rwanda, Southern Sudan and Tanzania.
Speaking to the New Vision, the spokesman of the Nakivubo Road Old Kampala Kisekka Market Vendors Ltd (NROKKMVL), Peter Lubwama accused KCCA of ignoring their numerous requests for the title.
“We have written to the Kampala Executive director twice over the matter but she has not responded. We are concerned that KCCA has taken long to give us the title,†he said.
But the Kampala CEO, Jennifer Musisi said she had not yet received a report on Kisekka Market, and promised to follow up the matter.
The management of Kisekka market has been a long running dispute between KCC, the government and thousands of people operating in the market.
In 1999, Kampala City Council (KCC) and the vendors reached a lease agreement of 11 years, under which KCC allowed the traders to construct permanent structures. The lease was due to expire in 2011.
In 2007, KCC approved a joint venture between Rhino Investments, a private developer and New Nakivubo Road Market Vendors Association, to develop a sh13b six-storey modern shopping complex.
However, this sparked off riots among the traders who accused the redevelopers of not being genuine representatives of the traders. KCC went ahead approved and leased the Market to Rhino Investments and the vendors association, New Nakivubo Road Market Vendors Association, sparking another clash.
In February 2008, the then local government minister, Kahinda Otafire, set up a commission of inquiry into the matter.
One month later, President Yoweri Museveni directed that Rhino Investments to vacate the market. He also instructed the then Attorney General, Dr Khiddu Makubuya, to evaluate and compensate Col John Mugyenyi, the proprietor of the firm. Museveni also asked Makubuya to help the vendors form a legal entity to manage and redevelop the market.
Colonel John Mugyenyi returned the 49-year lease title in return for sh14.9b as compensation, and KCC agreed to lease the market to the vendors. Last month, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee queried the amount and summoned Makubuya to explain.
In 2009, the then Local government minister, Adolf Mwesige backed the idea that the Kisekka Market lease should be offered to Nakivubo Road Old Kampala (Kisekka) Market Vendors Ltd but divisions among the traders sparked off chaos around Kisekka market, which quickly spread to several city suburbs.
The market is a source of livelihood for over 10,000 people working as traders, dealers, mechanics brokers and food vendors. The market derives its name from the late Dr. Samson Kisekka, the first Vice-President under President Yoweri Museveni regime.
Initially, the market was a temporary business area for traders displaced by the construction of the New Taxi Park in 1994. But before the traders, the three-and-a-half acres of land was a bushy swamp, with marshy vegetation, recalls an elderly man in Old Kampala.