UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | Rainwater floods Kampala shops after a night of heavy downpour that left the city’s main business district underwater. The torrential rains turned downtown streets and shopping arcades near the Nakivubo Channel into rivers of brown water, submerging basements, damaging merchandise, and causing losses worth millions of shillings.
Floodwater did not stop at basement levels. On ground floors, water rose to knee level, making most shops inaccessible.
Traders arriving early to open their businesses were met with waterlogged corridors and mud-streaked walls, unable to reach their merchandise or assess the damage.
Anger quickly replaced shock among affected traders, who accused businessman Hamis Kiggundu, through his company Kiham Enterprises, of obstructing drainage channels during construction of the Nakivubo redevelopment project.
According to traders, the focus on erecting commercial structures over the channel blocked vital water pathways, worsening flooding instead of preventing it.
Social media videos captured traders wailing beside submerged shops, while others clashed with security personnel at the fenced construction sites. Some witnesses reported that hired personnel attempted to disperse crowds, escalating tensions in the affected areas.
By mid-morning, streets surrounding the Nakivubo Channel were lined with frustrated traders, desperately trying to salvage their stock.
With little immediate support from government authorities, traders took action independently, hiring pumps and trucks to remove water from basements. A few political figures provided assistance, both as humanitarian aid and public engagement, as the downtown area resembled a disaster zone for most of the day.
Many traders rejected claims that flooding is a routine occurrence in Kampala. They emphasized that this event was unusually severe, with water reaching counters and turning basements into submerged storage areas.
The disaster follows previous floods that had sparked debate about the Nakivubo Channel redevelopment. City officials had warned that enclosing the channel without proper drainage could worsen flooding, while developers defended the project as part of Kampala’s modernization plan, including promises of underground drainage and waste management.
The latest floods have left hundreds of traders with damaged stock and rising debts at a time when many were preparing for the festive trading season.
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