Over time, Kampala city governing public body; Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has mooted repeated prohibitive operations against street vending across the capital but the act has never stopped.
The most recent one under which the city technical leadership and Kampala Minister Minsa Kabanda claims aimed at restoring trade order, improving sanitation, protecting consumers and streamlining city operations including boda bodas and commuter taxis, came to an effect from February 19, 2026.
Several vendors were swept off streets, giving the city a bit of different outlook from the usual one. But despite street vending interdiction, the trade is spanning on some streets due to endless transactional law enforcement practice by some staff in KCCA enforcement team.
Shocking revelations emerged following the Blazer News Times an interactive- investigative reporting, sampling the insights of some vendors in different spots, although they requested that their identities be withheld due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Our investigative move gained spark from the barbaric attack on an NBS TV camera operator Siraje Kiberu on Wednesday, 4, March, 2026 by some KCCA enforcement officers who assaulted him as he tried to document the street vendors that had returned to trade along Kikuubo-Namirembe road under their protection, leaving him with sustained severe bodily harms.
The Wednesday March, 4, 2026 an interim statement released by the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) revealed that two of the three KCCA personnel only identified as Ibra, Kabiito were adorned in uniforms, while the third one who could not be identified by that time, has since then come to be known as Kiviiri, from the Police investigations.
Transactional Law Enforcement Ways by KCCA Officers.
One of the ways through which some KCCA enforcement personnel illicitly accumulate cash the transactions according to the vendors, is by allowing some vehicles to find parking in un gazetted areas.
This Website has learnt of Arua Park being one of the hot spots. This area which is mainly occupied by the vendors from the North Western part of the country popularly known as; West Nile covering among other locations, Arua city, has many vendors with merchandise collections to the neighboring South Sudan trade destination, through this route. Because of this strategic factor, many heavy and minor trucks have been attracted there, despite prohibitive measures from the city governors.
It has emerged from our select vendors that each vehicle that is let to park at the Arua Park to be loaded for the next destination, meets a payment of $ 100 approximately 360 000 Uganda shillings, going to the KCCA enforcement personnel.
Vendors who provided information on condition of anonymity, said that the illicit financial cash collections are picked by the Law Enforcement personnel proxy agents that make rounds amongst their targeted colleagues.
This according to some observers is an impediment to the efforts by the city authority to restoring trade order in the city.
KCCA Speak Out
Following serious concerns of press freedom violation as raised by UJA, the KCCA team swiftly uploaded a brief statement on its official X handle, decrying the reported illegal street vending practices, before regretting the cruel attack by its enforcement personnel on Siraje Kiberu.
“Preliminary reports indicate that our colleague, Siraje (NBS), was assaulted while documenting vendors who had illegally returned to trade along Namirembe Road. This incident was reported at Mini Price Police under SD REF 31/04/03/2026”. The statement reads in part.
The statement went on to confirm that the disciplinary proceeding against the two officers who failed to prevent vendors from returning to the streets under their watch, had been commenced.
“As KCCA, we remain committed to transparency, accountability, and building a livable city for all”.
Whether the reported incidents of corruption among some KCCA Enforcement personnel can become history, only time can tell.
