Two street vendors shot by security guard during KCCA operation

According to the Kampala Metropolitan deputy Police spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigyire, the shooting occurred yesterday evening evening as a swarming array of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) enforcement officers scattered street vendors off William Street.

“Some of the vendors rushed and hid inside Mutasa Kafero Plaza along William Street. The security guard of SWAT Security Company, one Lokaman Charles. rushed inside the plaza to push out one of the vendors that had hid there. The mob reacted angrily and attempted to beat up the security guard which prompted the security guard to shoot at the crowd,” Owoyesigyire said.

He identified the shooting victims as William Magezi, 35, and Douglas Emma, 25, who are currently receiving treatment in hospital for gunshot wounds.

Owoyesigyire added that the security guard is under arrest and has been detained at Kampala Central Police Station while the rifle used in the shooting has been impounded as evidence as inquiries into the shooting continue.

The case was reported at Wilson Road police post on SD Ref 19/18/02/22.

This shooting happened in the context of a joint operation by KCCA, police and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces to keep vendors off the streets of Kampala.

In a rather intense operation, several street vendors have been arrested while many illegal structures trading in their wares have been razed to the ground as part of efforts by KCCA to make Kampala a modern city.

The Kampala Resident City Commissioner (RCC), Hudu Hussein, delivered a written statement a month ago saying that all vendors must vacate the streets of Kampala without complaint or cavil.

“As you may recall, I issued a statement late last year saying that all street vendors and hawkers were due to vacate the streets two days ago (January 10). Since then, a lot has been at play. The simple thing of vendors being relocated from the streets to the market has been politicised,” Hussein said.

He noted that USAFI and Wandegeya markets are empty, yet government the government poured huge sums of taxpayers’ money into constructing these markets. However, some politicians do not care if the country loses the money it injected into creating these markets, he said. Adding that such politicians are merely grandstanding comedians who wish to politicise everything.

Nonetheless, the RCC appreciated the vendors and hawkers who have so far listened to what he has been saying and thereby relocated from the streets to the markets.

“You have done the right thing. My hope is that no force at all should be used. I expect all well-meaning people of Kampala to understand that this is for the good, not just of Kampala but of Uganda as well,” Hussein stated.

He added that Kampala is a city undergoing transformation and so there shall be many changes to how the city is run and lived in. Nobody, he insisted, can stand in the way of these changes since they are geared toward the public interest.