Traders Drenched and Devastated as Nakivubo Works Flood Downtown Kampala » The Hoima Post –

By Alexander Luyima | The Hoima Post |

Downtown Kampala traders woke up to heartbreak this Friday morning after heavy overnight rains left several arcades near the ongoing Nakivubo Channel construction submerged. Basement shops were filled with muddy water, merchandise destroyed, and power disconnected for safety. Traders say they have lost goods worth billions of shillings and blame the flooding on the ongoing drainage works around Nakivubo.

Several arcades around Nabugabo, Allen Road, and Kafumbe Mukasa Road were among the hardest hit. Water poured through the basements and ground floors, sweeping away goods ranging from electronics to textiles. Many traders who rent space in these arcades spent the morning scooping water and salvaging what remained of their stock.

“This is not just rainwater. It is construction water redirected into our shops,” said a trader at Ham Shopping Grounds. “We have lost everything, yet the people responsible are quiet.”

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has previously warned that the Nakivubo drainage works have obstructed the natural flow of stormwater, causing repeated flash floods in the central business district. In August this year, KCCA issued stop orders on sections of the project after engineers raised concerns that the works were narrowing the drainage corridor and diverting water into commercial areas. Despite those warnings, construction continued.

Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has called the latest flooding a man-made disaster. He accused the developer, Ham Enterprises, of negligence and faulted regulatory bodies such as KCCA, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), and Parliament for failing to protect the public. Lukwago said the tragedy was the result of “greed, impunity, and regulatory failure.”

Traders’ associations, including KACITA, have demanded urgent intervention and compensation for affected businesses. Many argue that authorities should have halted the project long ago, given the visible impact it has had on drainage around Nakivubo and nearby markets. Civil society groups have also filed petitions and legal challenges questioning how the project was approved and whether environmental impact assessments were properly conducted.

The flooding has renewed debate about how public infrastructure contracts are awarded and supervised in Kampala. Critics say it exposes a wider pattern of negligence where enforcement of safety and environmental regulations is ignored until disaster strikes. With billions of shillings lost and livelihoods destroyed, traders are calling for an independent technical audit of the Nakivubo project to establish accountability.

Downtown Kampala’s arcades are the backbone of Uganda’s informal economy, supporting thousands of families. For the traders whose shops are now underwater, the question is simple: who will take responsibility for a disaster that could have been prevented?

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