President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has thrown his full weight behind a proposal by businessman Dr. Hamis Kiggundu to redevelop, upgrade, and improve the Nakivubo Channel—Kampala’s most critical drainage artery that has for years been synonymous with flooding, filth, and death.
In a letter dated 2nd August 2025, addressed to Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, the President praised Kiggundu’s idea as “imaginative and simple,” noting that his plan to cover, clean, and strengthen the channel at his own cost was both timely and life-saving.
Museveni made it clear that Kampala’s chronic flooding cannot be allowed to continue while practical solutions are on the table. “I approve of the plan. Help him to execute,” the President wrote, further authorizing Kiggundu to recover his investment by building properties above the channel.
This decisive presidential endorsement exposes Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago’s recent political grandstanding against the project as nothing more than selfish and cheap politics.
Also read: https://plusnews.ug/exposed-lukwago-chooses-cheap-politics-over-saving-kampala-from-deadly-floods/
While Lukwago has been busy politicizing the drainage crisis for personal mileage, lives continue to be lost in waterlogged trenches, businesses destroyed by floods, and residents condemned to wade through filth.
Ham’s proposal directly tackles these problems: covering the open channel to stop dumping of plastics, faeces, and other waste; strengthening drainage to prevent blockages; and beautifying the city through modern infrastructure. Where Lukwago offers rhetoric, Ham is offering investment, innovation, and action at no cost to taxpayers.
By siding with Kiggundu’s plan, Museveni has placed development, safety, and Kampala’s future ahead of petty political bickering. The President serm to be suggesting that the time for endless politicking is over. The people of Kampala deserve solutions, not slogans.
If Lukwago truly cared about the residents he claims to represent, he would embrace efforts to end the flooding nightmare instead of fighting them for narrow political gain.
With Museveni’s green light, the Nakivubo upgrade is no longer just Hamis Kiggundu’s dream. It is now a presidentially sanctioned project for the good of the city, for the safety of its people, and for the future of Uganda’s capital.