Someone Secretly Pulled Down Part of Owino Market at Night, And Police Have Arrested Two People

Traders who arrived at St. Balikudembe Market on Sunday morning found something they were not expecting. A section of the market had been brought down overnight, reduced to rubble, and nobody at the market had been told it was going to happen.

Owino Market, as everyone calls it, is not just a market. It is the heart of informal trade in Kampala. Thousands of people make a living there every single day — selling clothes, food, hardware, second-hand goods, you name it. When any part of that place is disturbed, real people lose real money.

Kampala Capital City Authority confirmed in a statement that the demolition happened at around 10 pm on the night of Friday, March 7. The structure that was brought down sits at the edge of the market along Nakivubo Channel on Sebana Road in downtown Kampala. Unidentified people came in with heavy machinery, worked in the dark and tore the building down without any permit from KCCA.

KCCA called it reckless and a clear violation of the rules that govern public infrastructure. They are right. You cannot just show up with machines at night and demolish part of a public market that feeds thousands of families. The fact that whoever did this chose to act under cover of darkness tells you they knew exactly what they were doing was wrong.

Police arrested the operators of the two machines used in the demolition. Investigations are ongoing to find out who gave the order and who paid for it.

The traders affected are watching and waiting. Questions are swirling in the market about land deals, who benefits and who knew. KCCA says it is working with other agencies to assess the damage and salvage what can be saved. Let’s hope the answers come quickly, because the people who sell their livelihoods from those stalls cannot afford to keep waiting.