President Yoweri Museveni has directed Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to approve businessman Hamis Kiggundu’s multibillion-shilling plan to redevelop the Nakivubo Channel and to support him in carrying it out.
In a letter dated August 2, 2025, Museveni described Kiggundu’s proposal as both “imaginative and simple.”
“Allow him to cover the channel after cleaning it and strengthening it at his own cost. What a really godly proposal? How will he recover his money? Simple. Allow him to build properties above it that will bring back the money,” the President wrote.
The letter, titled Redevelopment, upgrade, beautification and drainage improvement of Nakivubo Channel, was copied to the Vice President, the Attorney General, the Minister for Kampala, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Presidency, and to Kiggundu himself.
“I have got a very good proposal from Ham Kiggundu dated the 25th of July, 2025, regarding the Nakivubo Drainage Channel,” Museveni noted.
He said Kiggundu had argued that the open drainage invites people to dump rubbish, plastics and faeces. The President added that this disgusts residents, clogs the channel, and causes flooding.
The directive comes after weeks of uncertainty, as the project divided opinion within Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has vowed to fight the redevelopment, while some councillors — including several from the opposition — have voiced support.
“The Constitution that establishes the office of IG and the Act gives it overarching powers to make some quick interventions. So, we have asked the IG to invoke those particular provisions and issue an order for the removal of those mabati (iron sheets),” Lukwago told reporters on August 18.
He said his office had also written to the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, asking him to raise the matter before the House.
“This is a matter of national importance because we are talking about the capital city and public property for which we have authority as custodians. There is no free land in Kampala,” Lukwago said.
Later, in a post on X, the lord mayor questioned the President’s role in approving city planning.
”So, Mr. Museveni is now an architect or planner who approves the City plans! Does this letter confer absolute ownership of Nakivubo Drainage channel onto Mr. Kiggundu Hamis in perpetuity since he is being given a leeway to construct his own commercial structures thereon!?” Lukwago wrote.
Kiggundu has already fenced off sections of the channel. The move, carried out under heavy security on August 16, sparked protests from vendors, politicians and environmental activists.
Kiggundu has defended the project as both urgent and necessary. He described the open waterway as dangerous, unhygienic and symbolic of urban neglect.
He also pointed to the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) recent inspection of Kampala’s facilities, which praised the nearby Hamz Stadium but flagged the Nakivubo Channel as “the last major obstacle to Uganda’s readiness for AFCON 2027.”
According to Kiggundu, CAF’s directive was clear: the channel must be covered and modernised before Uganda can host Africa’s biggest football tournament.
“No modern city can prosper with open sewers cutting through its center,” he said, framing the redevelopment as a national cause that should rise above political and tribal divides.
