Traders sue Ham Kiggundu over downtown Kampala floods

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A group of traders, represented by the Uganda National Traders’ Alliance (UNATA), has filed a lawsuit against businessman Hamis Kiggundu and his company, Ham Enterprises (U) Ltd. They are accusing them of causing the floods in downtown Kampala last weekend, which resulted in the destruction of goods worth billions of shillings.

The traders filed their case on Monday in the Civil Division of the High Court, seeking compensation and an immediate halt to all ongoing construction works along the Nakivubo Channel.

Through their lawyers, the traders argue that the company’s redevelopment works around Nakivubo have blocked natural drainage paths, leading to severe flooding in several arcades.

Nico Kayongo (middle), one of the traders lawyers who delivered the traders' petition to the Civil Division of the High Court, having a brief discussion with his colleague and Katongole at Twed Plaza. (Photo by Moses Kigongo)

They also claim that Ham Enterprises deviated from the original construction plans approved by the President, NEMA, and KCCA, and want the court to order an independent investigation into the project.

“We want Ham to compensate all traders affected by the floods and for city authorities to restore proper drainage systems to prevent this from happening again,” said Godfrey Katongole, the UNATA chairperson.

In addition to Kiggundu, NEMA and the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) have also been listed as respondents in the suit, with traders accusing both government bodies of negligence and failure to supervise the Nakivubo redevelopment project.

The affected businesses, many located in basements and first floors of arcades, say they lost merchandise they had stocked ahead of the festive season.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has deployed teams to assess the damage and asked traders to file detailed reports of their losses, including police reference numbers.

KCCA spokesperson Daniel NuweAbine confirmed that the Authority is still investigating the cause of the flooding, but said its engineers are on the ground clearing blocked drains to ensure traders can safely resume business.