Tension is running high at the old taxi park following the dislocation of several stages by a section of private developers demarcating their plots.
On Sunday, the old taxi park was filled with uproar after Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) enforcement officers and police joined forces to aid plot owners in the demarcation process. The plot owners stormed the park with heavy machines, dislodging 12 stages before proceeding to drill marks on their plots.
The incident left both passengers and taxi operators stranded, prompting them to team up against the plot owners in protest.
The deployment has extended to Monday with police deploying heavily to avoid protests from distressed taxi operators who have complained of being out to business.
By 7:00 am on Monday morning the park was largely scanty with fewer customers and heavy police presence.
However, the Chairperson Uganda Taxi Operators Association Rashid Ssenkindi says they are aware of the operation and had already informed taxi’s working at the affected stages in time.
“We have always informed drivers in our meetings that the owners of these plots would soon return and demarcate them, the reason why they remain painted with red demarcation lines”
In May 2020, KCCA closed the park to commence renovations for three months but it has failed to reopen the despite works being partially done.
KCCA Council decision to reopen the after five companies sued KCCA for trespassing on their land and secured an interim injunction halting the re-opening.
The companies represented by their lawyer Nasser Serunjoji told the court that in mid-2020, KCCA started renovating the park and in August, they realized that KCCA had encroached on part of their land.
They asked KCCA to stop the encroachment and following several meetings, the operators entered a consent agreement with KCCA in December 2020 in which they agreed that KCCA shall grant them their plots temporarily after completing works on the carpet.
Sekindi says they reached out to the Minister of Works and Transport Hon Katumba Wamala to reopen the park following the repening of schools and during the meetings the government informed them that there was no money to refund private developers contesting their plots.
He explains that the government agreed to demarcate plots for the investors to erect temporary structures until such a time when they can be paid off.
“We initially thought they would construct on the second floor but this demarcation has affected several stages, it is going to cause us to squeeze into other stages to create space for those affected.” He says
KCCA deputy Spokesperson Robert Kalumba says the court ruled that the park is shared between the developers and government for 12 months as they figure out ways to settle them. He adds that the that the process is temporal.
