Charles Yiga has exclusively confirmed to this investigative website that he has led a number of traders who have been under the leadership of John Kabanda the president of the Federation of Uganda Traders Associations (FUTA) to form another association to fight for traders rights in Kampala city.
On Kabanda’s FUTA committee, Yiga has been deputizing Moses Lwegaba and also representing Kisekka market.
However, after they developed a misunderstanding which resulted from the billions of shillings they allege Kabanda picked from State House and Gen Salim Saleh’s Gulu home and is not accounted for, they have been forced to find another way to executive their earlier mission of fighting for traders’ rights.
He said that they have formed Kampala Central Division a cadres and traders cooperative society which was launched on Thursday this week.
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“Our society is not going to be used as a machine to get money from President Museveni’s government but we want to reach out to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) bosses to strategise on how to solve traders problems instead of compromising them and duping them to use their little money to go to Gen Saleh’s home to be given handouts,” Yiga said.
He added that they are going to cooperate with Dr Musoke Nagenda’s KACITA since they have established that they were misled by Kabanda and group that KACITA leaders were using traders to enrich themselves which was not true.
When contacted, Kabanda insisted that whatever he agreed upon with Gen Saleh and Museveni is in the interests of the traders and on Thursday next week, FUTA together with Kampala senior minister Hajjat Minsa Kabanda have organized a meeting at Kisekka market to explain to traders and the entire business community in Kampala why they went to Gulu to meet Gen Saleh last month.
“A lot has been said against me and my fellow leaders in FUTA, but they should know that we shall not be diverted by their bitter words because they cannot break our bones. We shall continue to fight for the common trader in this country,” Kabanda insisted.
