KAMPALA.A Friday morning heavy down pour , triggered flash floods sweeping through shops, streets, and the new taxi park in down town Kampala .
Angry traders arrived to find their merchandise floating in water, with basement and ground-floor shops hardest hit in several arcades. Videos from the scene showed traders wading through murky water to salvage goods while armed security men blocked sections of the road and buildings near the Nakivubo drainage channel.
In Kisenyi, Kampala’s slummy area where one of the branches of Nakivubo drainage channel connects , three people were reportedly killed by the fast moving water ,according to Charles Mugume , the area defence secretary .
The flooding reignited public outrage over ongoing construction works atop the Nakivubo Channel, a controversial project spearheaded by city businessman Hamis Kiggundu (Ham).
Some goons alleged to be pro-Ham assaulted several traders who were protesting the flooding and property damage.
“We called them for help as our goods were being destroyed by the water, but Ham’s men beat me up and took my money and phone. We have loans, no money, no food, and the rent is high. What does this government want us to do?” said a trader, bleeding from the eyebrow and lip after the chaotic clashes.
“Instead of bringing machines to pump out the water from the buildings, he has hired goons to beat us,” said other traders, as hundreds of their colleagues stood high on balconies of nearby buildings, chanting in solidarity against what they termed a “harmful project.”
The development, which has seen structures rising over what was once Kampala’s key drainage artery, has previously drawn widespread criticism from environmentalists and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) officials.
Despite warnings about legality and environmental safety, the project proceeded with backing from President Museveni, who has publicly defended it as a model of modern city redevelopment.
By Friday afternoon , neither Ham nor the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), as well as other Ugandan authorities, had issued an official statement