By witnessradio.org team
It sounds imaginary, but if everything goes as planned by Kampala aCapital City Authority, helpless women at Nateete market will be losing their small businesses to a masked investor, witnessradio.org can reveal.
Once taken, Jenifer Nambassa (45) is one of the majority traders who will lose out because her daily source of income that supports seven (7) orphaned children’s education, food, clothing and shelter will be no more to an economically powerful masked individual.
Sitting on 1.48 acres of land, Nateete market has over 23,000 traders with whom majority are widows that have been operating their small businesses for several decades.
However, according to witnessradio.org findings, one acre of the market land is privately owned while Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) owns 48 decimals.
Nateete market, started in 1928 is likely to join a long list of markets that have been razed down leaving the urban-poor communities jobless in an increasing land demand for investments.
Those that have been razed down include; Bakuli market, Kisekka market, Nakivubo Park Yard Market and Shauriyako market, among others.
witnessradio.org has learnt that the market problems originate from Musa Nnumba’s family, which owns the biggest part of the land on which the market seats. It has been found the family used the market’s land title as collateral to get a Shs 250m loan equivalent to US $ 75,000 (seventy five thousand dollars) from a money lender, but failed to pay back.
A case was taken to court which ordered for the auctioning of the title. In the process of auctioning, RR transporters limited emerged the highest bidder with Shs 3.5 billion, equivalent to about $1m thus taking possession of the land on which the market sits. RR transporters limited has given all traders an ultimatum of two months to willingly vacate or face forceful eviction.
However, KCCA, which has been collecting dues from traders since 1969 has not intervened yet, putting traders’ stay on the contested market land in balance.
witnessradio.org, will keep tabs on this story, and thus will keep you posted on all developments.
