Kampala Lord Mayor opposes plan to hand City Square to a private developer
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Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo has come out against a proposal to redevelop City Square into a hotel and shopping mall complex, saying the city is being stripped of its remaining public spaces.
Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo has come out strongly against a proposal to redevelop Kampala's City Square into a modern real estate complex, accusing government officials of having "been bought" by tycoons at the expense of the city's few remaining public spaces. Speaking at Constitutional Square on Tuesday, Balimwezo dismissed the redevelopment plan as part of a broader pattern in which Kampala's public land is systematically handed over to private developers.
The proposal, submitted by businessman Hajj Hassan Bulwadda, seeks to transform Constitutional Square into an eco-friendly complex. President Yoweri Museveni recently directed the Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Minsa Kabanda, to evaluate the plan in consultation with the Kampala Capital City Authority.
According to the mayor, Museveni confirmed he received the initiative directly from the developer. "I have received a letter from Hajj Hassan Bulwadda dated the 18th of August, 2026, proposing to develop the two acres at City Square in Kampala into a modern, eco-friendly real estate complex, with a hotel, shopping mall, etc, using solar power, etc," the President stated, instructing the minister to "study the proposal, discuss with Kampala Capital City Authority and come back to me".
Balimwezo argued the plan would strip Kampala of one of its last open public spaces, questioning why the city should lose more green land to private development. "Which city in the world has no green park? Everything is being taken by tycoons? We cannot accept this," he said. He also tied the dispute to what he described as Kampala's chronic underfunding despite its outsized contribution to national revenue, asking why the city generates over 72 per cent of local revenue but receives less than two per cent.
Presenting himself as an alternative custodian for the city's development, Balimwezo cited his professional background as an engineer with knowledge of planning, and pointed to alternative infrastructure proposals he has submitted to government, including a night train scheme intended to decongest Kampala.