RUBIRIZI, UGANDA – Rubirizi Town Council authorities have conducted a full-scale trade order enforcement operation against street vendors and illegal structures.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The crackdown follows new government directives on clearing street vending, the display of merchandise outside shop premises, illegal building extensions, and unsanitary latrines.
The operation, conducted on Monday, April 13, 2026, included dismantling makeshift stalls, clearing goods placed on walkways, and issuing notices to property owners with structural violations.
One of the Town Council officials, speaking anonymously, defended the operation as a mandatory enforcement of new government directives aimed at long-term urban planning.
The officer admitted that the council would consider designated vending zones in the future, insisting they are not heartless but that the law must be followed, as the town has become unmanageable.
Meanwhile, the affected street vendors in Rubirizi have expressed desperation and anger over the sudden enforcement, arguing that the council is targeting the wrong priorities.
Natukunda Martin, a vendor of household goods, insists that the town council must first solve drainage and garbage problems rather than harassing poor people who depend on daily income.
“Rubirizi Town Council is targeting the wrong priority. They should first solve the issue of drainage and garbage in town rather than harassing us poor people who depend on day-to-day income. Where do they expect us to go?” Martin stated.
Fellow vendor Mubangizi Boaz warns that harsh measures could drive desperate traders into crimes such as theft and prostitution, making them outcasts who rely on street sales for school fees and family livelihoods.
Mubangizi further urges local leaders to reconsider laws targeting street vendors, noting that criminalizing their only source of income could lead to severe consequences despite their significant contributions to families and communities.
“Criminalizing our only source of income will not clean this town; it will only push desperate families into theft, prostitution, and hunger. They are supposed to help us by building a public market, not harass poor people who depend on every day’s sales for school fees and survival,” Boaz warned.
Reverend Father Emmanuel Bazigambira, a parish priest and landlord in Ndekye Town, has urged Rubirizi Town Council to reconsider the street vendor ban from his dual perspective as a cleric and businessman.
Citing his dual perspective, Rev. Bazigambira warned that removing street vendors without a support system could trigger a wave of social crises, including rising hunger, domestic violence, and poverty.
He called on the government to first educate vendors about the new laws and provide alternative livelihoods by constructing a public market and industrial area, warning that failure to do so would only create idleness and multiply poverty in society.
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