Joshua Nahamya
15 August 2025
Mbarara City – Plans for the highly anticipated redevelopment of Mbarara’s Makhan Singh Market have hit a major snag. A deep-seated disagreement over ownership and financial arrangements has led to the project’s abrupt halt, leaving a State Minister stranded and market users in limbo.
The market, a bustling hub for over 1,000 vendors daily, occupies 1.67 acres under a leasehold agreement with Mbarara City Council, set to expire in 2060. The Mbarara Makhan Singh Market Landlords Association (MMMLA), formed in 2007 and boasting 508 members, had been spearheading the redevelopment initiative.
Conflicting Visions and a Forced Standstill
A meeting held on July 23rd, 2025, by the MMMLA saw a resolution passed to vacate the old market on July 25th, paving the way for a groundbreaking ceremony by Plabuild Technical Services Ltd on July 30th. However, not all members were on board. A dissenting faction of landlords and vendors vehemently rejected the proposals, citing unresolved issues, particularly concerning future ownership of stalls in the new market and the hefty Shs 7 million contribution required from landlords for construction.
The meeting reportedly grew tense, with Thomas Mukundane, the MMMLA chairman, allegedly ordering security to remove the aggrieved members to ensure the meeting’s “successful” conclusion. Mukundane had also arranged for the State Minister for Economic Monitoring, Hon. Beatrice Okello Akero, to launch the groundbreaking officially and had requested additional security for the planned demolition and launch dates.
Town Clerk Intervenes, Minister Left in the Dark
The aggrieved vendors, feeling their concerns were ignored, staged a demonstration and petitioned the Mbarara City Town Clerk, who is the custodian of the market land. Their appeal challenged the redevelopment plan, prompting the Deputy Town Clerk, Simon Ejua, to intervene.
In a letter dated July 23rd, 2025, Ejua officially halted both the demolition of the old structures and the groundbreaking ceremony. The letter stated, “The City Town Clerk has received a complaint from a section of the Landlords and Traders… which the City is still investigating. The planned demolition and launch of construction has become a security issue as a section of Landlords and Traders have today staged a demonstration at Mbarara City Council Offices, protesting against the planned exercise.” It concluded by stating, “This is therefore to halt the exercise of demolition and launch of construction until Mbarara City has completed investigations on the complaint and made a decision on the same.”
A Minister’s Unwitting Journey
Unaware of the cancellation, Hon. Okello Akero arrived in Mbarara on July 30th, ready for the groundbreaking function. Upon realizing the event had been called off, she reportedly returned to Kampala, declining to speak to the media about the unforeseen turn of events. Attempts to reach MMMLA Chairman Thomas Mukundane for comment were unsuccessful.
Vendors Demand Transparency
Abas Rugundana, Chairman of the Mbarara Makhan Singh Traders Association (MMSTA), voiced the frustrations of the vendors, emphasizing that construction cannot proceed until their grievances are addressed. “Why all that hurry? Imagine inviting the minister well knowing that the groundbreaking was not going to take place. You can see the mafiarism they are deploying to drive our market into hell,” Rugundana stated, adding that they are now seeking to directly petition the minister.
Rugundana further highlighted that the MMMLA was initially formed by vendors before being taken over by the “so-called landlords,” and he insists that all vendors who have traded in the market for years should be included as beneficiaries of the new market.
Concerns also linger regarding the financing of the new market. “When we ask the chairman how many have so far paid he doesn’t respond, how will the funders benefit from the market, instead he calls us opposition but we are not against development, we are worried about the processes of restructuring our market,” Rugundana explained. “What if we reach in the middle and run out of the money, what will be the fate of the vendors? Let’s first agree with each other before jumping into a project we are not sure of.”
Way Forward and City Council’s Stance
During a meeting with vendors on Wednesday, Mbarara City Resident City Commissioner (RCC), Hellen Catherine Kamwine, urged them to allow the market’s redevelopment, which has been stalled for over a decade.
“I was here as the RDC in 2014, now it is eleven years; you are still conflicting over the restructuring of Makhan Singh market,” Kamwine remarked. She emphasized that the city must develop and that the conflict primarily stems from landlords vying for power, while tenants suffer business losses.
Kamwine, alongside the landlords, pledged to use the City Council office to register all vendors, assuring them of priority in reoccupying stalls upon the new market’s completion. “One issue which was not worked on is that we didn’t meet you to know who was occupying which stall and who is the landlord, such that after completing the reconstruction, you can be given the first priority to reoccupy the new market,” she explained.
Mbarara City Town Clerk, Justine Barekye, acknowledged the vendors’ contributions to the city’s development and reiterated that a condition of the 49-year lease to the landlords was to redevelop the market. She appealed to vendors to embrace the project, condemning landlords for allegedly misleading them.
“What was lacking is information sharing; these people have not been giving you the right information, and it is not fair because we shall not remain in that confusion, we must move,” Barekye stated, promising to keep vendors informed.
The market’s future now hangs in the balance as Mbarara City Council investigates the complaints, hoping to find a resolution that satisfies all parties involved in this crucial redevelopment project.
