KCCA executive petitions court over eviction of street vendors

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA Executive Committee has petitioned the High Court to quash the ban on street vending and hawking on grounds that it is illegal and unreasonable. Led by the City Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, the KCCA Executive Committee has filed its petition before the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala against the Attorney General, Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority, and Kampala Resident City Commissioner.

The other members are the Deputy Lord Mayor Doreen Nyanjura, and councilors Olive Namazzi, John Mary Ssebuwufu and Kizza Hakim Sawula. In the petition, the city executive accuses the Minister for Kampala and the RCC of usurping their powers when they announced the ban on street vending and hawking in January 2022, leading to the brutal and violent eviction of street vendors, kiosk operators and hawkers.

The petitioners say the eviction directive is being enforced by the police, UPDF, KCCA law enforcement officers, and unidentified stick wielding persons calling themselves Smart City Operatives. Lukwago says the current legal regime governing the city vests mandate of organizing and regulating trade order in the city in KCCA and does not abolish street vending and hawking but instead creates a mechanism for regulation of the same through licensing.

The petitioners argue that the KCCA strategic plans for 2014/2015 to 2018/19 and 2021/2022 to 2025/2026, made provisions for the construction of common user facilities and modern markets to accommodate the urban poor, which was budgeted for in various budgets. But Lukwago says the central government has unjustifiably refused to allocate funds for this project, leaving the vendors and hawkers with nowhere to fend a living from.

In the said strategic plans, KCCA indicated that there should be construction of markets in different divisions of Kampala in order to create organized workplaces, set minimum market standards in the city, and promote trade order and formality of business.

The petitioners now contend that the Kampala Minister and RCC do not have powers under the law to issue any directive prohibiting street vending and hawking. They also argue that the directive was issued without consulting stake holders and following due process.

“The applicants have persistently asserted that the 3rd respondent/KCCA should process licenses and issue them out to street vendors and hawkers to operate in some specific streets, open spaces, vending markets, flea markets etc. but all in vain”, reads the petition.

According to Lukwago, they want court to declare that the brutal and violent eviction of all the street vendors, kiosk operators, and hawkers by the police, UPDF, KCCA law enforcement officers, and unidentified stick-wielding persons calling themselves smart city operatives is illegal, irrational and unreasonable.

In the same suit, the petitioners also challenge the July 1st 2022 directive by Kyofatogabye Kabuye, the Minister for KCCA prohibiting all unregistered boda bodas from operating in the Kampala Metropolitan Area.

According to the suit, the minister together with the Rubaga Deputy RCC, Anderson Burora further decreed that the boda boda cyclists allowed in Kampala have been reduced to only 7000 out of 200,000 boda boda riders, who operate and do business in Kampala at specified stages and do business within KMP.

On this, they argue that KCCA put in place an ordinance to regulate public transport, boda bodas inclusive but this exercise has been reportedly thwarted by the directives under contention.

The petitioners now want court to issue an injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from implementing all the directives talked about in their suit and declare them null and void.

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