Trade order · 24 August 2026
FUTA warns KCCA over confiscation of traders’ property in Kampala arcades
Enforcement that seizes goods and does not return them is collapsing businesses. FUTA says the Trade Order must be applied without destroying livelihoods.
FUTA has warned the Kampala Capital City Authority against confiscating merchandise displayed outside shops in the city’s arcades. President John Kabanda said traders report that enforcement officers seize property in the name of the Trade Order, and that confiscated goods are often not returned.
The federation is not opposed to order in the city. It is opposed to enforcement that makes a shop collapse. Kabanda called on KCCA to do what the Trade Order actually states, and to stop a practice that leaves owners without stock and without redress.
The warning comes months after traders lost goods in the October 2025 floods around Nakivubo. Many of those traders have still not received the compensation the government publicly committed. FUTA has asked the KCCA Executive Director to address both the seizures and the outstanding relief, and has not ruled out a demonstration if the concerns are ignored.
Kabanda has also urged the Minister for Kampala to deal with landlords charging rents that no small trader can carry, and to consider evening markets so that underprivileged vendors have a lawful place to earn.
Federation of Uganda Traders Associations · Park Mpya Mall, Kampala