Kampala needs more public open spaces, not more malls, hotels and apartments, Buganda Kingdom Katikiro Charles Peter Mayiga has said, joining growing calls to preserve City Square amid a proposed redevelopment
The Katikiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga, has called for the preservation of Kampala’s City Square, arguing that the capital needs more public open spaces as urban development continues to expand.
Mayiga said Kampala should be creating more parks and public squares rather than converting existing open spaces into commercial developments.
“Kampala needs more open spaces (indeed, more parks and squares) rather than less. We don’t lack sites for malls, hotels, and apartments,” Mayiga said.
His remarks come amid a growing public debate over a proposal to redevelop about two acres of City Square, also known as Constitutional Square, into a modern commercial complex featuring a hotel, shopping mall and other facilities.
President Yoweri Museveni directed Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs Minister Minsa Kabanda on August 30 to study businessman Hassan Bulwadda’s proposal in consultation with the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and report back. The government stressed that the directive was to evaluate the proposal and did not amount to approval of the redevelopment.
Mayiga argued that Kampala’s rapid growth makes preserving open spaces particularly important.
“Kampala, especially the metropolitan areas, are basically virgin. The heart of the city needs to breathe,” he said.
He added that City Square provides the city centre with space that cannot easily be replaced once developed.
“City Square (I don’t like the name Constitutional Square – another space should have been created to commemorate the 1995 Constitution) facilitates that much-needed breath,” Mayiga said.
“Let’s save the CITY SQUARE! CPM,” he added.
A long-running debate
The debate over City Square is not new. The site dates back to Kampala’s early urban planning and was originally known as Government Square. Historical accounts place its designation as an open civic space around the beginning of the 20th century. Monitor
The square was renamed Constitutional Square on October 8, 1995, following the promulgation of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution.
In recent weeks, opposition to its redevelopment has come from several quarters, including Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo, who has argued that the city should retain the space for environmental protection, recreation and emergency response. Monitor
Parliament has also debated the proposal. On September 30, Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi questioned whether one of Kampala’s remaining green spaces should be opened to commercial development, while State Minister for Industry David Bahati said the government was still studying the proposal. Parliament of Uganda
The controversy has also revived an earlier dispute involving businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba, who told Parliament’s COSASE committee that his company had won a tender to redevelop the square in 2001 and paid the then Kampala City Council Shs1.6 billion before the arrangement was cancelled. Parliament of Uganda
The current debate therefore extends beyond the proposed hotel and shopping complex to a broader question about Kampala’s urban future: how the capital balances commercial development with public space, environmental needs, heritage and the quality of life of its growing population.
For Mayiga, the answer should include preserving spaces where the city can, in his words, “breathe.”
