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By Amos Tayebwa
Tears, anger and desperation have engulfed the streets of Mbarara after a sweeping city council operation to restore “order” turned into a full-blown eviction storm, leaving thousands of street vendors, kiosk owners and small traders counting heavy losses and staring at an uncertain future.
The no-nonsense crackdown, jointly executed by Mbarara City South Division and Mbarara City North Division, kicked off earlier this week and has since spread like wildfire across the city, flattening kiosks, dismantling containers and chasing hawkers off the streets in what authorities describe as a decisive move to enforce urban order.
But on the ground, the story is heartbreak.
“I have lost everything,” one vendor cried as enforcement teams loaded confiscated merchandise onto trucks. “This is how I feed my children. Where do they expect us to go?”
From Bishop Macklista Road to Kijungu in Nyamityobora, from Kakoba-BSU Road to Bucunku, the once-bustling informal trading hubs now lie in disarray, with broken structures, scattered goods and stunned traders watching helplessly as their livelihoods vanish.
City authorities, however, remain unapologetic.
According to Allan Buhanda, the City Commercial Officer, the operation is both lawful and long overdue.
“We notified these people by using different forums. We had two days of mobile drive informing the traders to prepare themselves, but as you know, human beings operate under pressure. Some removed their things, others remained adamant, so we had to come in to enforce. What we are doing is within acceptable limits,” Buhanda said.
He insisted the operation is not temporary — but permanent.
“The operation is infinite. We are not going to leave the streets,” he declared.
Buhanda further revealed that the city has already provided alternatives, pointing to thousands of available spaces in both public and private markets.
“We have more than 5,000 spaces where these people can be accommodated. The city will not lose revenue because those we are removing are not paying licenses or rent, yet they compete with compliant traders.”
But for many affected traders, that argument offers little comfort.
“They are telling us to go to markets we cannot afford,” another displaced vendor lamented. “Rent is high, and customers are on the streets, not inside those markets.”
The operation has been ruthless in execution. Traders who resisted eviction saw their goods confiscated on the spot, while those who delayed compliance returned to find their structures already torn down.
“We gave them a grace period,” Buhanda added. “Some started removing themselves, but we have come to clear what they left behind and evict those who remained.”
The enforcement teams, backed by security personnel, have cast a wide net, targeting not just kiosks and containers, but also street vendors, mobile money operators on verandas, food sellers, traders occupying walkways, and even illegal boda boda stages.
City leaders insist the crackdown is necessary to restore sanity.
Prisca Murongo, the Deputy Mayor of Mbarara, defended the operation as part of a broader vision to transform the city.
“This exercise is intended to bring order to Mbarara City. Physical planning teams will follow enforcement to ensure building owners pave walkways and improve the appearance of their premises.”
She warned that property owners are next in line if they fail to comply.
Yet as the city pushes forward with its vision of order and modernisation, critics argue that the human cost is being ignored.
“Mbarara may become clean, but at what cost?” a local observer questioned. “You cannot talk about development while destroying people’s only source of income.”
For years, Mbarara has struggled with a surge in illegal structures and informal businesses crowding its central areas. The latest operation marks one of the most aggressive attempts yet to reclaim the city’s streets.
But as bulldozers move in and enforcement teams tighten their grip, one thing is clear — behind the promise of order lies a growing wave of displacement, anger and uncertainty.
For thousands of traders now left stranded, the city’s clean-up has come at a devastating price.
