The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party has condemned a proposal by city businessman Hajj Hassan Bulwadda to take over part of Constitutional Square to build an eco-friendly hotel and shopping mall.
According to Robert Centenary, the party Vice Chairperson, the opposition party has noted with utter dismay a letter dated 18th August 2026 by Bulwadda to President Yoweri Museveni seeking two acres of the square, also known as City Square.
The party described the proposal as ill-conceived, flawed, unpatriotic and called for its total rejection.
“Constitutional Square is not idle land for grabbing. It is a gazetted National Cultural Monument and Historical Site,” Centenary said.
FDC argued that as far back as 1903, under the Township Ordinance, a decree was issued forbidding private construction on what was then called Government Square, and that it was later confirmed as a key civic feature when the formal planning scheme for Kampala was adopted.
According to the party, the square is public land held in trust for the people of Kampala by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) under Article 237 of the Constitution of Uganda and the KCCA Act, and cannot be alienated through a private letter to the President.
Centenary said Kampala does not need another private mall but needs public breathing space, noting that the city centre has less than 3% green cover. He described Constitutional Square as the only remaining civic lung for national celebrations, public recreation and democratic assembly.
“You cannot develop a public square by removing the public. That is not development; it is enclosure,” he added.
He cited past examples of public land giveaways, including UBC land at Nakasero, the Naguru-Nakawa Housing Estate, and public school lands such as Shimoni Primary School, which he said were handed out under the guise of modern investment, leaving the public poorer and the city more flooded and congested.
“Eco-friendly does not mean grabbing a green space. True eco-friendly development means preserving and planting more trees, not concreting a park to install solar panels on top of a private hotel,” Centenary said.
The party also drew lessons from neighbouring Kenya, where, it said, Kenyans stood firm to protect Uhuru Park and Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi from developers, preserving them as the lungs and pride of Nairobi through the efforts of patriots like the late Prof. Wangari Maathai.
FDC called upon the Minister for Kampala, Minsa Kabanda, and KCCA, led by Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo Nsubuga, to respect their statutory mandate and stand with the people.
The party warned that should there be any attempt to transfer, allocate, lease or sell the land, it will go to court and seek a caveat to prevent any unlawful.
