Traders affected by the October 2025 floods in Kampala’s Central Business District have stormed the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), demanding the release of Shs20 billion in compensation reportedly promised by President Yoweri Museveni.
The traders staged a protest on Wednesday morning, October 28, 2026, expressing frustration over the continued delay in receiving the money intended to help them recover from losses suffered during the devastating floods.
In dramatic scenes at the government offices, some of the protesters stripped naked to express their anger and desperation over the delayed payments, escalating pressure on authorities to fulfil the presidential pledge.
The traders say they have waited months for the promised financial assistance as they struggle to rebuild their businesses and recover from the damage caused by the floods that hit Kampala in October 2025.
Their protest has brought renewed attention to the government’s handling of compensation for traders affected by the disaster, raising questions about when the promised funds will finally reach the intended beneficiaries.
The protesters are demanding answers from the OPM, which plays a central role in coordinating government responses to emergencies and disaster-related interventions.
Shs20bn compensation caught in beneficiary-list dispute
The latest protest follows months of delays in the government’s efforts to compensate traders whose merchandise was destroyed when heavy rains flooded parts of Kampala on October 31, 2025.
President Museveni pledged the Shs20 billion support package in December 2025 during a meeting with leaders of Kampala traders at his Kisozi farm in Gomba District. He assured the traders that government would review their losses and provide compensation.
However, the payment process has been repeatedly delayed by disagreements over the number of traders eligible for compensation.
In August 2026, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja told Parliament that conflicting lists submitted by different institutions had prevented government from completing the payments before the end of the 2025/2026 financial year.
According to the Prime Minister, the Federation of Uganda Traders Associations submitted more than 2,000 names, while the Uganda Revenue Authority submitted a list of 360 traders. Kampala Capital City Authority submitted 460 names, and the Kampala City Traders Association presented another list of 480 traders.
A verification exercise conducted by the Internal Security Organisation reportedly identified 737 beneficiaries, but the traders challenged the resulting list and petitioned the President for further intervention.
The dispute has left traders uncertain about when they will receive assistance, despite repeated assurances from government.
Traders warned they would occupy Prime Minister’s office
The latest demonstration follows warnings by affected traders that they would camp at the Office of the Prime Minister beginning Wednesday, October 28, unless the government released the money.
In a report published on October 25, Nilepost quoted traders as saying they had fulfilled the requirements communicated to them but had not received their payments. They also appealed to security personnel to allow them to demonstrate peacefully.
The situation has also exposed the gap between the government’s compensation pledge and the financial difficulties facing some traders who lost merchandise worth millions of shillings.
In September, Daily Monitor reported that the government had set a maximum payment of Shs30 million per trader and that verification was still ongoing. Some traders complained that the proposed assistance would not adequately cover their losses.
How the October 2025 floods devastated Kampala businesses
The floods struck downtown Kampala after heavy rainfall on October 31, 2025, inundating shops, arcades and commercial premises around Nakivubo Channel.
Traders reported extensive damage to merchandise and blamed the flooding partly on construction activities and disruptions to drainage pathways, allegations that have fuelled wider public debate about urban planning and accountability.
The disaster was followed by further heavy rains in November, which caused additional flooding in low-lying parts of the city.
The compensation package was intended to provide relief to affected businesses while government pursued longer-term measures, including drainage improvements and stricter enforcement of building regulations.
For the traders now protesting at the Prime Minister’s office, however, the immediate concern remains the release of the promised money.
The central question is whether the government will finally disburse the Shs20 billion or whether disagreements over the beneficiary lists will continue to delay payments to businesses still struggling to recover from the floods.
