Kampala: The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) on Monday convened a special council meeting to deliberate on the mounting controversy surrounding businessman Hamis Kiggundu’s redevelopment activities along the Nakivubo Drainage Channel.
In a notice dated August 25, 2025, Council Speaker Maala Zahrah Luyirika confirmed that the meeting would focus on “communication from the Speaker” and a full discussion of “controversies surrounding Nakivubo channel – City Executive Committee, Council of the Authority, and KCCA Management.”
The extraordinary sitting follows President Yoweri Museveni’s directive endorsing Kiggundu’s plan to clean, cover, and redevelop the channel, allowing him to construct commercial properties above it to recover his investment costs. Museveni praised the initiative as “imaginative and simple.”
However, the plan has drawn sharp criticism from city leaders and environmental experts. Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has dismissed the move as “illegal and fraudulent,” arguing that Kiggundu lacks mandatory approvals from both KCCA and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
Last week, KCCA Deputy Executive Director David Kigenyi confirmed that the Authority had ordered Kiggundu to halt all ongoing activities lacking statutory approval and to clear debris obstructing stormwater flow.
Environmental engineer Apollo Buregyeya also warned of potential long-term risks:
“Once you cover a channel, every blockage becomes invisible. Every malfunction hides underground. Every flood hits harder. Add weak governance, and what you get is not modernization but denial,” he cautioned.
The special council session is expected to openly confront the Nakivubo dispute, weighing the central government’s backing of private-led redevelopment against the city’s obligation to enforce planning laws, protect the environment, and safeguard residents from worsening floods.