KCCA’s Buzeki gives update on City Square giveaway

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki has reassured that no decision has been made to give away Kampala’s Constitution Square, commonly known as City Square, to a private developer.

Buzeki said on Tuesday that President Yoweri Museveni only asked the Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Minsa Kabanda, to study a proposal to develop the land and consult KCCA before reporting back to him.

She made the clarification during a meeting with representatives of Kampala traders amid growing controversy over the proposed redevelopment of the public space.

“We have heard some voices say that the President gave away the land, but when you read the President’s letter to the Minister of Kampala, he said he had received a proposal to develop the land,” Buzeki said.

“There is nowhere where the President gives away the land.”

Businessman Hajj Hassan Bulwadda tabled to the president the proposal to develop two acres of Constitution Square into a modern, eco-friendly real estate complex.

Bulwadda submitted the proposal on August 18, 2026. It envisages a hotel, shopping mall and other commercial facilities, with solar power incorporated into the development. 

Museveni wrote to Kabanda on August 30, directing her to study the proposal, discuss it with KCCA and report back to him. The letter was also copied to Vice President Jessica Alupo and Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.

Buzeki said Kabanda has since constituted a committee to examine the proposal.

“At this stage, the minister has constituted a committee to look into the proposal, and thereafter they will come to us, and we are waiting for them,” she said.

She added that KCCA's technical and political leadership will give their views before the minister submits feedback to the President.

Buzeki's clarification echoes an earlier statement by Deputy Presidential Press Secretary Faruk Kirunda, who said Museveni had not allocated the land to an investor and was awaiting a report on the proposal.

Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo has already made his position clear that he does not want commercial development on the square.

Balimwezo argues that Constitution Square should remain an open public space because of its environmental, recreational and emergency response value. 

In a September 12 letter to Attorney General Sam Mayanja, Balimwezo said the square dates back to 1903, when the colonial administration set it aside as Government Square. He argued that it has since acquired civic, historical and constitutional importance. 

Balimwezo has also cited a 2007 protection order as part of his case for preserving the square.

“City Square must be left open. It is the City Square that helps us breathe, take in the air. It must not be played with. That is our take,” Balimwezo told Monitor earlier this month.

He also argues that the square serves as an emergency assembly point during fires and other disasters in Kampala's congested central business district.

Balimwezo has asked the government to direct investors interested in major developments to alternative land rather than sacrifice one of the city's remaining open spaces.