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By BM
A group of Kampala city residents and members of the downtown business community have formally petitioned the World Bank, seeking its intervention in what they describe as an illegal and environmentally hazardous development taking place along the Nakivubo Channel.
The petition, dated September 17, 2025, and submitted by an Aspiring Member of Parliament Kampala Central Division Susan Kushaba, on behalf of affected traders and residents, accuses the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), several government officials, and KIHAM Enterprises Ltd of unlawfully interfering with the channel, a critical drainage and flood management system in the heart of Uganda’s capital.
According to the petition, the developments around Nakivubo Channel have been carried out without legal authorization, environmental safeguards, or transparency.
The group claims that KCCA, in collaboration with the Minister for Kampala Minsa Kabanda, the Executive Director of KCCA Sharifah Buzeki, and Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, has facilitated the handover of portions of the Nakivubo Channel to Kiham Enterprises, a private company owned by city developer Mr. Hamis Kiggundu also known as Ham.
The petitioners argue that this handover has been done illegally, bypassing legal procedures such as environmental impact assessments, competitive procurement, and stakeholder consultations.
The letter to the World Bank recalls the Bank’s own involvement in the rehabilitation of the Nakivubo Channel in 1999 through a US$19.15 million loan under a Development Credit Agreement signed on June 17 of that year.
The project involved widening the channel from four meters to 18 meters to improve storm-water drainage and reduce flooding in central Kampala.
As part of that project, the World Bank conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment that highlighted potential negative impacts on local flora and fauna, and issued several key recommendations aimed at safeguarding the long-term integrity of the channel.
These included desilting the channel to improve water flow, realignment to optimize hydraulic capacity, widening of the structure, culvert construction, tree planting along the banks, and the creation of an escrow account for regular maintenance.
However, the petitioners claim that these recommendations have been ignored or violated in the current developments, resulting in serious environmental and economic consequences.
They say that without a proper environmental certificate or technical feasibility studies, Kiham Enterprises has proceeded with construction on top of the Nakivubo Channel, erecting commercial buildings in a wetland zone.
These actions, they argue, have interfered with storm-water flow, contributed to flooding in surrounding areas, and disrupted businesses in and around Owino Market.
The petition specifically cites the flooding on September 16, 2025, which caused damage to merchandise in at least five arcades and parts of Owino Market.
Traders reported significant losses due to flash flooding, which the petitioners attribute directly to the obstruction of the channel by ongoing construction.
In addition to environmental risks, the petition raises human rights concerns.
It alleges that traders and residents have been denied their right to work and do business, and that individuals resisting eviction have faced harassment, illegal arrests, and even physical intimidation by agents allegedly hired by Mr. Kiggundu.
The petition questions Mr. Kiggundu’s qualifications and past record, pointing to his previous involvement in displacing Park Yard traders and controversial developments near Owino Market.
It also criticizes government agencies for ignoring public outcry and for failing to oversee the legality and feasibility of the project, despite some government bodies having disowned the initiative altogether.
The group is now asking the World Bank to take immediate action, citing the institution’s past role in financing and guiding the rehabilitation of Nakivubo Channel and the partial redevelopment of Owino Market in the 1990s.
Specifically, the petitioners are calling for the Bank to halt any financial assistance to KCCA until the irregularities are rectified.
They are demanding that ongoing construction by Kiham Enterprises be stopped, that compensation be provided to all traders who have lost property due to the resulting floods, and that victims of unlawful arrests and intimidation be recognized and compensated.
Furthermore, the petition calls for full restoration of the Nakivubo Channel to its state prior to the recent developments, and for a complete halt to any further sale or allocation of land along the channel, which is situated in a protected wetland.
They argue that preserving this land is essential for environmental sustainability and the economic survival of thousands of small-scale traders in Kampala.
The petitioners also request that all agreements between KCCA and Kiham Enterprises be made public, and that the City Authority be compelled to comply with the World Bank’s original recommendations from 1999 regarding the maintenance and protection of the Nakivubo Channel.
They warn that failure to act could lead to more flooding, loss of livelihoods, and irreversible damage to the city’s urban ecosystem.
As of press time, neither KCCA nor Kiham Enterprises had issued an official response to the petition.
