By Aaron Okotel
MBALE CITY
The Mbale City Council enforcement team has demolished several kiosks and makeshift structures in the city center as part of an operation to evict street vendors and restore trade order.
The operation, conducted on Monday, March 2, 2026, is being supervised by Geoffrey Mugisha, Town Clerk for the Industrial City Division. It follows a one-week ultimatum issued by the Mbale City Town Clerk, Assy Abirebe, directing all street vendors operating in ungazetted areas to vacate.
According to Mugisha, the exercise is currently focused on the city’s “Central Lanes,” areas that had been congested by makeshift stalls and displays of second-hand shoes and clothing. The clearance aims to allow free movement of pedestrians and create space for formal business operations.
“We started at 5am in the morning,” Mugisha said during the operation. “We have not had any bad situation, and we hope it will go on as planned. We have seen that many street vendors have taken heed and moved.”
He expressed optimism that the division would achieve full compliance by the end of the week.
Mugisha estimated that in just one lane, between 600 and 700 vendors were operating illegally. He noted that because the vendors were occupying undesignated spaces, they were not paying trading licences or standard taxes, leading to revenue losses for the city.
The Town Clerk also raised concerns about illegal “fees” allegedly being collected from vendors by unknown individuals.
He urged affected vendors to relocate to gazetted markets within the city where space is still available. Mbale City Council currently manages four public markets: Mbale Central Market, Busamaga Market, Kumi Road Market, and Kikindu Market.
City authorities say the enforcement exercise will continue in other parts of the city to ensure order and compliance with trading regulations.
