Street vendors block Bunyoro Kitara Diocese road as Hoima City enforce trade orders

Food vendors operating along Duhaga roundabout market commonly known as Kidomole in Hoima City West Division on Tuesday became hostile as they protested against city authorities’ eviction enforcement.

They termed it “forceful and illegal eviction.”

Vendors portrayed their hostility in the morning by blocking the main road leading to Bunyoro Kitara Diocesan with heavy stones, garbage, an action which sparked police intervention with heavy deployment to calm down the situation.

Vendors’ industrial action followed the city authorities’ trans night operations which left makeshifts including pork joints destroyed and confiscated merchandise.

Confiscated items were packed on the city’s garbage trucks and driven to the yard.

It was in the morning when the traders reported for their daily routine but only to find the area cleared and could not trace their merchandise.

According to witnesses, the Hoima City’s enforcement teams arrived at around 3 am on Tuesday morning and began destroying the vendors’ makeshifts including pork joints while the merchandise was confiscated and packed on the City’s garbage trucks.

Speaking to journalists, the traders wonder why authorities have not come out clear on the eviction deadlines and the alternative areas where they will operate from.

On February 26, 2026 the Hoima City West Division council sat and gave the vendors a four-month period to vacate the streets. However, the same authorities enforced an operation months before the agreed date.

Vendors have been denied a peaceful reallocation to the council’s alternative market areas.

Council had provided three alternative market places including Kibingo, Kyesiga and Nyarugabu market places for the vendors to vacate by June 30, 2026.

This sparked concerns among the affected individuals, noting with concerns why city authorities could break promises of peacefully evicting them in June 30.

They say many of them had purchased new stock to continue with their routine activities from their market (Kidoomole), condemning the act of clearing their merchandise, which has landed them into a lot of losses.

Some of the operation-affected persons are Margret Kwesiga, Jolly Muganyizi and Teopista Nyamahunge. They called the city to plan for a permanent market for the affected vendors since they equally contribute to the national GDP.

They have requested the Hoima City Mayor Brian Kaboyo and President Museveni to come to their rescue and ensure that they get a market in Duhaga other than being pushed to Kibingo which is in another ward.

William Musingunzi, the chairperson of the affected vendors has contested the eviction, saying that they had been given four months of preparation until June 30.

The chairman, however, termed the eviction as illegal eviction, adding that they look forward to taking the city to courts of law.

“We are going to take Hoima City to courts of law over this eviction. What they have done is an illegal eviction,” he said.

Kibingo market is located 3 kilometers away, while Nyarugabo is 6 kilometers and Kyesiga about 4 kilometers from the city center.