The drama of Xmas shopping in Kampala

Dec 09, 2011

It is that time of year again and the financial crisis notwithstanding, Kampala streets are bustling with beehive activity and renewed life yet again.

 By Titus Kakembo

 
It is that time of year again and the financial crisis notwithstanding, Kampala streets are bustling with beehive activity and renewed life yet again. 
 
From students on holiday, upcountry traders, loving parents with shoe string budgets, tourists to Abasummer (Ugandans living in the diaspora who return home for December holidays), everyone is looking to buy something. 
 
“Lukumi lukumi mulonde,” (take your pick at sh1,000) squeals a dealer in children’s wear at St. Balikudembe Market. 
“Pay sh5,000 for Wrangler or Levis jeans” howls another lady with slacks that fit like second skins at the Old Taxi Park where teens brave the sweltering midday heat.
 
“Topu ya nkumi satu satu” (tops for sh3,000 each) screams another, in a popular Luganda jargon among street smart people. As dealers scream themselves hoarse to attract buyers with discounts, one would be excused for thinking this is going to be the last Christmas in Kampala City.
 
In downtown Kampala, men are looking for just the right gifts for their women, while the women are shopping for their men too. And mothers are busy digging in their wallets to shop for their children. And do not forget gifts for extended family and friends. 
 
Fashionistas are storming pricey shops on Kampala Road and hotel arcades to pick items by popular designers. Price tags for such designer gear range from a pair of boots going for sh500,000 to sh1.8m. 
 
A leather belt in such high-end shops could be between sh30,000 to sh200,000. Do not raise eyebrows with surprise at such prices, those who know the worth of the designer goods will be comfortable paying. 
 
Folks with less disposable cash are storming stalls in St. Balikudembe and Nakawa markets to take their pick of  second-hand Levis jeans, skirts, footwear, underwear and double breasted suits.
 
Come rain or shine, shoppers and traders at these markets fork their fingers through the mountain of clothes, caps or shoes. Haggling contests are a compulsory shopping culture in Kampala city. Starting prices are often cut by discounts of 25-50%. One way shoppers try to get prices lowered during the haggling process is by walking away after the seller tells their price, hoping the seller will call them back or that they will be grabbed by competitive dealers.
 
Unlike in multinational shops with price tags, any other dealer in the markets, on hearing a word from a buyer in Luganda like “Ssebo” (sir) or “Nsalilako”(reduce the price) makes many a conservative trader soft-hearted and irresistibly drop their prices. 
Take heed though, walkways on many of our busy streets are flooded with cheaper pirated goods from China or Taiwan. You will just as easily take home a “Qony” for a “Sony” transistor radio for a cheaper price. 
 
Thanks to Jennifer Musisi, the no-nonsense Kampala City CEO, we have been saved from the army of hawkers with their mobile shops of necklaces, electronics, shoes, lingerie and cutlery in the city centre this season. 
 
However, we still have those located at Jinja Road who  gallop alongside cars when the lights turn red, shoving their merchandise through vehicle windows.
 
“Waliwo ayagala ku ddagala lye bilowozo?” (Anybody interested in mind stimulants?) asks a husky voiced hawker. In his palms are inhalers. 
 
Bodaboda operators are also making their kill during this festive season. Joanita Wambuyi, a trader new to Kampala, wanted to get to the Old Taxi Park. 
 
The boda boda man shuttled her from King Fahad Plaza to Kampala Road and through Ben Kiwanuka Road and then asked for sh10,000! 
 
In all this, take caution. Unscrupulous pickpockets have relocated to keep fiddling with handbags and pockets of unsuspecting travellers, shopkeepers and buyers. With one sole aim of ‘taking Christmas’ back home, they are here to make a killing so watch out.
 

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