Kampala Affairs Junior minister Christopher Kabuye Kyofatogabye has revealed that immediately after floods swept Kampala downtown businesses, President Yoweri Museveni directed the Minister of General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba to hold an emergency meeting with all the stakeholders in government to establish the cause of the problem and advises him accordingly.
Acting on the presidential directive, Kabuye revealed that they held an emergency meeting in the Office of the Prime Minister and a team of senior engineers were dispatched on the ground to establish the findings before writing a detailed report to the head of the State.
Basing on the engineer’s report, Minister Kabuye said that it was established that the problem was not caused by the developments the controversial city businessman Hamis Kiggundu is doing on Nakivubo drainage channel as it was claimed but it was caused by the already insisting infrastructures especially commercial buildings which were built on top of wells.
“It was established that when building their big buildings, some of the accused landlords blocked the sewage system which were connecting to the big city sewage collection centre. They then decided to connect the sewage pipes to Nakivubo drainage channel. When Kiggundu blocked the flowing of sewage and flow of water into the channel, coupled with the pressure of the rain water, the buildings next to the channel had to flood,” Kabuye claimed.
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He confirmed that after collecting all the information on ground, they submitted their report to the President even though through a video clip on the social media platforms, Museveni said that investigations into the matter are still ongoing to establish the rightful cause of the floods where the struggling business community lost billions of shillings.
Minister Kabuye’s information directly collaborates with that of KACITA chairperson Issa Ssekito who confirmed that he contacted Kiggundu and pleaded with him to join other traders to strategise on how to help the traders and relatives of the four people who lost their lives.
Ssekito said that he was shocked because Kiggundu blasted him and asked him why he is being accusing him of causing the floods. He assured him that at whatever costs, buildings are going to be built on top of the drainage channel. He also accused fellow landlords especially Drake Lubega of causing the floods by blocking the sewage systems.
Ssekitto added that when he contacted Lubega, he also blasted him accusing him of being unfair and protecting the big people behind Kiggundu who are now diverting the entire flood troubles to him when they know the person behind the floods.
Lubega wondered why all those huge floods happened after Kiggundu started building on top of the channel noting that he was also affected by the floods because his building was damaged and he needs a lot of money to repair it yet he is still struggling with bank loans.
Minister Kabuye said that their team which wrote a detailed report to Museveni established that there is ongoing infighting among landlords and a huge number of them have ganged up against Kiggundu because of the deals he seals with government and are asking themselves who is behind him.
Ssekito said that both Kiggundu and Lubega assured him that they will not compensate the affected people.
However, Kabuye said that they have advised the president to force the other landlords of the affected buildings including Lubega to compensate the traders.
“Truth be told government doesn’t have all that money, and Kiggundu has already spent a lot of money on that project. So those landlords should be the ones to compensate those rich traders who even dry money in the sunshine. Ugandans like them have to praise Museveni for all those gains including drying their money in the sun,” Kabuye mocked traders.
He added that if it is government to compensate them, it will take over ten years for the traders to get their money noting that even those affected by Kitezi landfill are yet to be fully compensated.
Ono Bwino has established that Kasule Lumumba’s team recommended to the president that each trader should be compensated with Shs10m but they should only consider those with shops not those selling on the verandas.
Even though Kabuye’s team has exonerated Kiggundu, the country’s Engineers Registration Board (ERB) warned that the ongoing redevelopment of the Nakivubo Channel is placing the entire Kampala city, especially downtown, at risk of flooding if proper technical standards are ignored.
In a letter dated October 6, 2025, ERB Chairman Prof. Eng. Henry Mwanaki Alinaitwe said any redevelopment Nakivubo drainage channel must have been undertaken after the requisite mandatory studies and technical assessments were carried out.
KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki confirmed to city council that Kiggundu started redeveloping the drainage channel without being authorised by the authority noting that ongoing constructions are being done illegally.
President Museveni directed all government authorities to make sure that Kiggundu receives all the support to redevelop the said channel and praised him for having a good project.
