KCC eviction notice worries Nakawa

Arthur Baguma

SOME of them were born and raised there, but within the next few weeks, they have to vacate the area. Kampala City Council issued eviction notices to tenants of Naguru and Nakawa housing estates to vacate the over 50-year- old estates, to pave way for re-development.

In an October 28 notice, KCC ordered Naguru estate tenants to vacate within 180 days, while those in Nakawa must leave in 90 days effective November 1.

When I visited the estates on a chilly Saturday w, hordes of children were playing in groups, oblivious of what is yet to befall their families.

Mainly adult women were talking among themselves, pondering over what the future holds in light of the developments. Since the notice to vacate was issued, many of them gather in small groups discussing their fate.

For many, it is a hopeless and uncertain future. The area looks congested and residents are suspicious of any stranger. Many of the units are dilapidated.

Mzee Alfred Olanya, 64, one of the pioneer tenants of Naguru housing estate, formerly employed by the Post Office said the situation is more serious than meets the eye and that it should be handled humanly.

“If the worst comes to the worst, I will shift to the slums and live like a pauper. I can’t go back to Gulu,” the frail father of four said adding, “Evicting us will greatly affect the market as well, 80% of the Nakawa market is run by tenants.”

Olanya’s abode is a replica of a small village homestead. With a garden spade in hand, he painfully bends to weed his small garden of vegetables. A stone throw away was a small garden of plantains, which he says KCC cut down in October, citing security reasons.

“My children and some of their grandchildren have grown up here. This is the ‘ancestral’ home,” says Olanya, dressed in tatters and rubber sandals with cut grass in hand. It is a tough moment for Olanya and many other families in the area especially those headed by single mothers.

“Its common knowledge that many of the homes are headed by women who have limited means to sustain themselves. I don’t know whether KCC has taken the initiative to find out,” said Norah Nawandyo the LC1, chairman village 5, Naguru housing estate.

The tenants say KCC should give them priority to acquire and develop the houses, but those interviewed openly admitted they don’t have the money to do it overnight.

“They should give us more time. I don’t know where we shall go. I am a low-income earner and a widow struggling to pay fees for my children,” says Mary Tumushabe, 45.

Others doubt the seriousness of KCC and insist they will not vacate. “I think they are just threatening us, they won’t do anything, otherwise where will they put us, unless they want to establish a settlement camp for us,” a furious Nakawa tenant said.

However, for some tenants, staying in the houses was like eating from a silver plate. “We were paying peanuts to KCC. A serious person by now would have taken advantage of the situation. Some of us will definitely relocate to personal houses,” a tenant in Naguru said.

Following the eviction notice, Kampala Mayor Ssebaana Kizito told the New Vision that all tenants are to be paid a year’s rent to enable them to relocate to other places. Ssebaana further said, “People should know that those houses and land belong to KCC. We have a tenant and landlord relationship,”

“They should have called us to the community centre where we usually meet or send us memos. They have no respect for us. Running adverts in papers! Is that the landlord –– tenant relationship the Mayor is talking about,” a tenant said.

Walufu Rhona, a mother of two says. “Give us two years and we shall get where to go. The period KCC has given us to vacate is short.”

Obot Lily, 48, a tailor and a widow says: “It is an ambush, a few months notice to vacate is not enough. This is a matter of life and death. They should treat us like Ugandans, we are not foreigners.”

Odong Moses,a shopkeeper in Nakawa trading centre says: “The estates are accommodating many of the people who fled their areas due to insecurity, including those from Gulu, Lira and Kasese.”

Walter Mwesigwa, 46, a social worker: “Government and KCC should go back to the drawing table and critically analyse the implications of their decision. Thousands of people cannot get alternative accommodation in such a short period of time.”

Josephine Ayitso, an employee with Britannia and a widow: “I have no alternative. Many of us are widows with limited means. The president should intervene.”

John Musita, a tenant and shoeshiner: “We agree with KCC that development is a necessity, but they should implement their policy in good faith without hurting us.

Mukasa Henry, a journalist says: “KCC is right. these people should live. They can’t afford to buy and redevelop the area. Many of them are low income earners.”

“KCC developed and adopted the strategic framework for reform as a way of improving service delivery to its residents. It therefore resolved among other things to divest it-self from unproductive assets, which include all its housing stock,” the eviction notice read.