By:  Ismael Kasooha

KAMPALA

The Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Nabbanja Robinah held an emergency meeting with Landlords and their Tenants in the Kampala Central Business District and resolved an impasse that had started between them.

This followed President Museveni’s directive to have the issue sorted to allow the tenants carry on with their business as usual after weeks of disagreements with the landlord.

The meeting took place at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala and ended at 9:00pm on Monday.

During the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, several resolutions were made where it was agreed that all tenants shall continue paying rent at the current approved rates until the next financial year (2026/2027).

“Any increment shall be in accordance with section 26 of the LandLord and Tenant Act of 2022. Tenants who have already paid the increased rates will have the excess amount treated as advance rent payment,” the statement read in part.

The landlords represented by Godfrey Kirumira and Tom Kitandwe promised to dialogue with the tenants to avoid confrontations in future.

Another issue agreed upon was the re-establishment of the Sunday Hawkers day to address challenges being faced by the hawkers.

Hajjati Minsa Kabanda the Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs and Salim Uhuru the Mayor Kampala Central described the meeting as a success.

Representatives of the traders John Kabanda (FUTA) and Edward Ntale (UATEA UG) lauded the government for the timely intervention when they raised the concerns.

John Bosco Suuza, the Director, Legal Advisory ServicesAttorney General’s Chambers/Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs explained that the current Landlord Tenant law addresses all issues raised by the traders.

Going forward, KCCA shall ensure that all new building plans include provisions for cable installations that allow electricity service cables to extend externally up to the metering point to allow for installation of separate pre-paid meters for each user. Compliance with this requirement shall form part of the criteria for approving commercial building plans.

Other issues agreed on were as follows:

  1. Landlords shall adopt the EFRIS (Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution) system and start issuing fiscalized rent receipts to all their tenants as per the Law.
  2. A Sub-Station and new transformers will be installed in Kampala to address challenges of load shedding in the Central Business District.
  3. Sunday markets for hawkers and vendors shall be permitted, as most traders do not operate on Sundays.
  4. The Landlords and the Tenants shall in all their dealings comply with the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 2022.
  5. A Sub-Committee Chaired by the Deputy Executive Director KCCA with representation from UEDCL, URA, Attorney General’s Office, the Kampala Youth Vendors and Hawkers, the G3’s, FUTA, UATEA, KAFO, and Kikuubo Traders was constituted to meet regularly and fast track implementation of the above resolutions. Among the issues to be discussed is the payment of electricity dues.
  6. The proposal is to have tenants continue paying for electricity at the current rates as the Government completes the transition from Umeme to UEDCL to enable the issuance of a separate meter for every tenant.
  7. The Committee should report back within a period of two weeks from the date of the meeting specifically on 11th November, 2025.

End