{"id":3628,"date":"2025-08-18T10:40:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T10:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blizz.co.ug\/news\/?p=3628"},"modified":"2025-08-18T10:42:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T10:42:50","slug":"erias-lukwago-anger-ham-kiggundu-seals-nakivubo-drainage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blizz.co.ug\/news\/erias-lukwago-anger-ham-kiggundu-seals-nakivubo-drainage\/","title":{"rendered":"Erias Lukwago Explodes with Anger After Ham Kiggundu Seals Off Nakivubo Drainage Channel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A fresh storm has erupted up after flashy businessman Hamis Kiggundu aka Ham sealed off sections of the Nakivubo drainage channel as part of his ongoing redevelopment of Nakivubo Stadium, causing LordMayor Erias Lukwago to loose his temper.<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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The move has left city dwellers, hawkers and politicians spitting fire, with Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago leading the charge, blasting the project as a fraudulent land grab disguised as \u201cdevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Social media went crazy on Friday after pictures and videos circulated showing parts of the drainage channel barricaded. Reports confirmed that Ham Enterprises had even secured clearance from KCCA to construct new structures on top of the city\u2019s lifeline waterway.<\/p>\n

Lukwago didn\u2019t mince his words, calling it a shameful abuse of public property:<\/p>\n

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\u201cPublic property (Nakivubo Drainage channel) fraudulently appropriated by unscrupulous individuals (Ham Enterprises) and you hear some charlatans hyping it as development! Ooh Uganda, may God uphold thee\u2026\u201d Lukwago ranted.<\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Lukwago<\/p>\n

According to him, Kampala is now being run not by elected leaders but by wealthy businessmen and their political backers. He argued that loopholes in the KCCA Act have left ordinary citizens \u2014 especially hawkers who once thrived in the Nakivubo belt \u2014 completely sidelined, while developers reap big.<\/p>\n

But Ham insists the project is a game-changer that will turn downtown Kampala into a modern hub, creating jobs and boosting the economy.<\/p>\n

Still, hawkers and small traders are not buying it. Many say they\u2019ve been forcefully pushed out without alternatives, branding the whole redevelopment as \u201cdevelopment for the rich only.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Analysts say this latest standoff sums up the bigger Kampala headache: modernization vs survival of the common man. And this isn\u2019t Ham\u2019s first rodeo \u2014 his flashy Nakivubo Stadium facelift has long divided opinion, praised by some as visionary and slammed by others as shady and exclusionary.<\/p>\n

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Public property (Nakivubo Drainage channel) fraudulently appropriated by unscrupulous individuals(Ham Enterprises) and you hear some charlatans hyping it as development!!!. Ooh Uganda May God Uphold Thee….. pic.twitter.com\/QNXZkeXhUA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago (@EriasLukwago_) August 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n