Overview:
The directive, announced by the City Council on Wednesday during a press briefing, aims to restore trade order, improve sanitation, and ease the movement of pedestrians and motorists within the Central Business District (CBD).
Authorities in Mbale City have issued a definitive five-day ultimatum to all street vendors and hawkers to vacate the city’s pavements, corridors, and roadways or face forceful eviction.
The directive, announced by the City Council on Wednesday during a press briefing, aims to restore trade order, improve sanitation, and ease the movement of pedestrians and motorists within the Central Business District (CBD).
The city leadership, led by City Clerk Assy Abirebe, emphasized that the current state of the city, characterized by blocked walkways and unmanaged waste, is no longer sustainable for a city of Mbale’s status.
The clerk was flanked by the town clerk of Northern Division Irene Okuna and her counterpart of Industrial Division Geofrey Mugisha, the Resident City Commissioner of Industrial Division, among other leaders.
“We have held several sensitization meetings with the traders. This five-day notice is the final grace period. After this, our law enforcement team, backed by security agencies, will move in to clear all illegal trading points,” Abirebe stated.
The crackdown will focus heavily on “hotspot” areas, including Republic Street, Naboa Road, Pallisa Road, and Bishop Wasikye Road, among other streets within the city.
Abirebe said that it is the responsibility of the city council to ensure order in the city, noting that whoever doesn’t comply will face the enforcement arm of the council.
He adds that the crackdown is not aimed at chasing the people from the city, but to improve the trade order.
The Council’s primary frustration stems from the fact that while hundreds of vendors occupy the streets, the multi-billion shilling Mbale Central Market and other suburban markets like Namakweke and Kumi Road remain underutilized.
The city clerk says that the vendors are shunning the markets to avoid paying dues and instead flood the streets, which has continued to cause commotion and congestion in the CBD.
The Northern Division town clerk Irene Okuna said that the operation will be continuous, noting the enforcement will affect wrong street parking, street children, and other people, like chapat sellers. She noted that the enforcement team is more than ready.
Geofrey Mugisha, the Industrial Division town clerk, said that they don’t expect any street vendors by the close of the five days, which will fall on Monday next week.
Hamza Banja, the Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Industrial Division, said the trade disorder within the city has become a fertile ground for the increase in criminality. He said the city security committee has resolved to help the city council authorities in bringing order to the city.
The ultimatum has sparked a wave of anxiety among the informal trading community.
It is seen as part of a renewed, more aggressive nationwide directive similar to the KCCA crackdown in Kampala that ended on February 19, 2026, to make the changes permanent this time.
The Vendors, many claim that the stalls inside the main market are either too expensive or have been “hijacked” by wealthy middlemen who rent them out at exorbitant rates.
On the other hand, shop owners have welcomed the move, complaining that vendors block their storefronts and sell similar goods at lower prices since they do not pay rent or taxes.
City authorities have urged all affected individuals to report to the Market Allocation Committees to secure any of the remaining vacant spaces in gazetted areas before the enforcement begins.
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