We shall close buildings harbouring street vendors, says RCC Hussein

The Resident City Commissioner (RCC) for Kampala, Hudu Hussein has warned that buildings and businesses found harbouring street vendors and hawkers shall be closed.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Hussein, said the move is one of the seven points of action by Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) to eliminate street vendors and hawkers off Kampala city streets.

Accordingly, the point of action leaves the shop owners, arcade owners, managers and business owners in the city centres with the responsibility to keep the street venders off the verandas of their buildings.

“We’re now shifting the responsibility of getting the street vendors off the verandas and the streets to the landlords,to the shop owners and managers of buildings because we’ve noticed that a section of them connive with some street vendors to be allowed to operate on the verandas,” Hussein said.

He added, “So, if we find a shop owner or a landlord allowing street vendors on the veranda of his/her building, we shall close the building or close the shop because that is connivance,”

Hussein commended KCCA and security agencies for their efforts in bringing back city trade to order but warned that the job is far from over.

“Police and other security agencies including the KCCA enforcement team are doing a commendable job of keeping the vendors and the hawkers off the streets. However, these may leave the streets maybe after a year or two,” he said.

It’s worth remembering that vendors and hawkers were evicted on January 17, 2022 on the orders of Kampala RCC, Hudu Hussein by KCCA law enforcement officers and other security personnel.

Many who have been depending on the streets for their daily bread have since been evicted out of the city streets an action that has been condemned by many including Civil Society Organisations.