Those who went to day schools around Old Kampala, Makerere and Bat Valley in the early 1990s recall an open swampy area where they used to buy sugarcane and fried cassava.
Two decades later, the area had been transformed into one of the most vibrant motor vehicle parts market in East Africa.
The market derives its name from Kisekka Foundation Hospital, which was located a stone’s throw away from it. The hospital itself derived its name from Dr. Samson Kisekka, the first Vice-President under President Yoweri Museveni’s regime.
Initially, the market was a temporary business area for traders displaced by the construction of the New Taxi Park in 1994. But before the traders, the three-and-a-half acres of land was a bushy swamp, with marshy vegetation, recalls an elderly man in Old Kampala.
“There used to be burly men selling fried cassava and sugarcane to school going children. The swamp was filled with sugarcane husks,” said an Old Boy of Caltec Academy, then located on William Street.
The market has about 5,000 official traders and hundreds of others dealing in vehicle repairs, while others act as brokers. This is in addition to food vendors. In total, the market is a source of income for over 10,000 people. The market deals in both new and old vehicle parts.
In 1999, Kampala City Council (KCC) and the vendors reached a lease agreement of 11 years, under which KCC allowed the traders to construct permanent structures. The lease was due to expire in 2011.
But KCC recently handed over the land title to the vendors, following advice from President Yoweri Museveni.
The move put an end to wrangles and demonstrations that threatened security in the city and occasionally brought business to a halt.
The vendors had been protesting KCC’s decision to grant a 49-year lease to Rhino Investments, a private developer. Traders have intimated that they will start redeveloping the market by June next year.
Kisekka market has become such a focal point in selling spare parts that besides Uganda, motorists and mechanics from as far as Rwanda, Southern Sudan, Tanzania and DR Congo visit it. If a motorist fails to get spare parts from Kisekka Market, the alternative is Nairobi. And this business comes with a lot of pay, partly because they get many buyers as the spare parts are cheaper compared to other markets.
Many traders have made fortunes out of selling spare parts, to the extent that some, nowadays travel directly to Japan to import them. A trader revealed that on a good day, he can make up to sh20m.
“I have bought land, built, bought a car and my children go to good schools,” said the trader, who did not want to be named. He joined Kisekka Market in 2003 and has two shops. Unfortunately, he lost one of them in the fire.
Between 2000 and 2003 when robberies were at their peak in the country, several businessmen from Kisekka Market fell victim, some losing their lives. A woman only identified as Namukasa was shot dead and robbed of an unspecified amount of money in 2002 as she left the market. Fellow traders said the money she was carrying to the bank was about sh80m.
It is little wonder that when Rhino Investments tried to secure a lease to redevelop the market, the traders went up in arms. They have staged over five strikes, protesting the redevelopment by Rhino Investments. Some of these riots have resulted into loss of lives and property, but the traders have time and again vowed to die for their businesses.
When a fire broke out on Monday morning, traders exhibited the same spirit. Whereas Hawa Nankinga said she could not save anything from her shop, Isaac Ssebaggala from Kawaala sustained injuries as he battled the fire.
He managed to save some of his merchandise. Resty Nayiga and Fatuma Namukwaya were carried away by Uganda Red Cross staff after they fainted in front of their burnt shops.
