The floodwater did not stop at the basements. It climbed to knee level on ground floors, cutting off access to most shops. Traders who came early to open their businesses were met with waterlogged corridors and walls dripping with mud. Many stood helplessly by their doors, unable to enter or even see where their goods had been.
As word spread across downtown, anger quickly replaced shock. Traders accused businessman Hamis Kiggundu, through his company Kiham Enterprises, of blocking drainage tunnels during construction of the Nakivubo Channel redevelopment project. They claimed that instead of completing the drainage works first, the developer had prioritised building commercial structures on top of the channel, cutting off vital water pathways.
Video clips shared on TikTok and X showed traders wailing beside flooded shops, while others shouted at security guards near the fenced construction area. Several witnesses told independent media that men believed to have been hired by the developer assaulted protesters, scattering the crowd. By mid-morning, the streets were lined with stranded traders, their anger directed at what they saw as negligence hidden behind grand promises of “modernisation.”
With no immediate response from government agencies, traders took matters into their own hands. Some hired water pumps and trucks to drain the basements, while a few political aspirants offered assistance, a mix of genuine help and public attention. For the rest of the day, the affected part of downtown Kampala resembled a disaster zone: traders scooping water with buckets, dragging out drenched stock, and trying to rescue whatever could still be sold.
Many traders rejected the familiar explanation from the so-called paid voices and media that “Kampala has always flooded.” They argued that while flooding is not new, this incident was different, deeper, more destructive, and directly linked to the ongoing Nakivubo construction. “We’ve seen floods before,” one trader said, “but never water rising to the counters and turning the basement into a swimming pool.”
Barely a month after the heavy afternoon rain that flooded Kampala on 6 October 2025, this new disaster has deepened public scepticism about the Nakivubo project. The earlier floods had already triggered public debate between Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and Kiggundu, with the former warning that enclosing the channel could block natural water flow and worsen flooding. Kiggundu, on the other hand, defended his project as part of a broader plan to modernise the city, promising underground drainage, waste filtration, and eco-walkways that would eventually reduce flooding.
But Friday’s floods told a different story. The basement levels of trading buildings were completely submerged. Even ground floors, which had survived previous downpours, were now underwater, forcing upper-level tenants to suspend business. For the hundreds of traders affected, the debate about urban planning feels distant.
This incident, which left displayed and stocked goods soaked, comes at a time when many traders are restocking for the festive season, hoping for improved sales after what many describe as a slow year. Now, they’re left with damaged goods, growing debts, and no clear path to recovery. “Is this how Muzeeyi [Museveni] is protecting gains, banange tudde wa?” asked one exhausted trader, standing knee-deep in water.
I’m not against Ham Kiggundu or Development or whatever you may call it but Ham should have found a solution to this water problem before blocking all water channels.
A trader downtown just sent me these videos and it broke my heart. Traders are counting losses because water is… pic.twitter.com/slo3tr7qyd
— Denis Duke Woniala (@DenisDukeUG) October 30, 2025
