When torrential rains pounded Kampala for nearly four hours on the morning of October 31, the city’s low-lying commercial spaces turned into pools of brown water, swallowing parts of shopping arcades and streets.
For two days, traders watched helplessly as their merchandise was destroyed by flood water, leaving them counting losses costing into billions of shillings. Walking through the flood-hit arcades, the scene was grim.
Many shops remained shuttered, with water-soaked plywood and broken shelves strewn across the floors.
Renovators were painting walls and patching up soaked partitions, while traders carefully sorted through soggy stock, trying to salvage anything that could be washed and sold again.
Across French Plaza, Totala Business Centre, Pentagon Plaza, and other affected buildings, water finally began receding from the basements after a valiant effort by the police fire brigade department, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) , and traders.
But the traders spoke in low voices about the heavy reality of their destroyed goods. Some shops have remained closed for weeks due to extensive damage and delayed government compensation.
‘Everything was soaked, my business records, clothes, machines, even the phones I use for content creation. Totally everything,’ said Ms Ruth Nanyonjo, a boutique owner in the Capital Centre building, seated on a crate outside her shuttered shop, arms crossed and frustration showing on her face.
‘The water stayed for almost two days. Even after it dried up, the smell of sewage was unbearable. I am still cleaning instead of selling.’
The deluge, described by many as the worst in recent years, paralysed business across the city. Traders say the water rose to the beam level inside their shops, destroying even items placed on higher platforms.
Two weeks and three days later, many traders remain stranded. Shelves stand empty, capital has been wiped out, and some have borrowed to renovate and restock. Others are still waiting for a government intervention.
Traders lament
Most traders say Kampala Capital City Authority KCCA teams have only recorded names and shop numbers, without conducting asset valuation or collecting account details for relief . Others say they have not been approached at all.
At French Plaza, Mr Herbert Lukwago, who operates 12 shops, said goods worth Shs1.8b were destroyed. ‘The message about the disaster found me in China,’ he said.
‘I booked the earliest flight back, hoping to save something, but most of my goods had perished and couldn’t be sold again.’
By the time of the interview, Mr Lukwago and his workers were sorting through soaked carpets and other damaged merchandise, trying to retrieve anything usable.
‘KCCA has a team moving around writing down shop occupants and numbers. But it is not fair that they are promising relief instead of compensation. The government knows this problem started with approvals for drainage channels, yet all the bodies are avoiding responsibility,’ he said.
Mr Lukwago added that the losses have pushed many traders to unbearable mental strain.
‘They have put us in a tricky situation of borrowing from people. Others are quitting. Personally, I am contemplating suicide. I have failed to sleep ever since this tragedy. What you work for your entire life perishes in hours, yet we pay all these taxes,’ he lamented.
Documents he shared show business loans exceeding Shs100m, placing his mortgaged properties at risk. His neighbours across the flood-hit plazas are facing the same despair.
Mr Yusuf Abdallah Kaziba, who occupied five shops in French Plaza, estimated his losses at Shs12b. ‘Since we rented here eight years ago, this is the first time we have seen destruction on this scale,’ he said.
‘We wrote to the Office of the Prime Minister asking for help with loan compensation. They replied that they cannot send an assessment team, not even in two weeks, because they were handling issues in Bulambuli.’ He added that some newborn baby merchandise had undergone chemical reactions after being soaked in water, making them unsafe for sale.
‘I had five shops, but now I have managed to reopen only one with brand-new merchandise.
These commodities are sensitive to babies’ skin, so we cannot return those that were in the dirty water. The rest is gone, yet these businesses depend on loans.’
Just a few shops away, Ms Judith Nakaggwa, who ran two shops at Totala Business Centre and French Plaza, said her entire stock worth Shs150m was destroyed.
‘I started as a hawker until I saved enough for my own shop. I didn’t manage to save anything, and I’m severely traumatised. As a single mother, my children may not sit final examinations. Even feeding them is hard. I borrow from colleagues who are also not working,’ she said.
At Pentagon Plaza, shoe dealer Mariam Kulwadda said traders feel abandoned.
‘What hurts us most is the change in communication. The government first said it would send evaluators for compensation. Now they speak of relief, which we doubt will even reach the right people.’
She added that some officials and online commentators have accused basement traders of not deserving compensation, despite being legal tenants who pay all required taxes. Some traders, like Ms Jamirah Namubiru, a phone-accessories dealer, are painstakingly rebuilding.
‘When I first entered the shop, the phones were all spoilt, and even the shop itself was destroyed,’ she said, stepping over piles of broken plywood and bent metal frames.
‘The water peeled off the wallboards, the display lights blew, and all my cable trays were floating.’
KCCA speaks out
KCCA spokesperson Daniel Muhumuza Nuweabine said the Authority is working under the directive of the prime minister, who was instructed by the President to track all traders affected by the city floods.
‘We are still assessing with two teams, one from KCCA and another from ISO. Once the verification is complete, we shall compile all the details and submit a full report to the prime minister,’ Mr Nuweabine said.
He explained that while compensation had been discussed, the process became complicated, prompting government to opt for a relief programme coordinated through the Office of the Prime Minister.