Vendors at Kitgum Main Market have petitioned the Ministry of Local Government over alleged theft of merchandise worth more than Shs150 million in the past year. In a petition dated September 11, 2026, the vendors said their merchandise had been repeatedly stolen despite the market being guarded by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
They said they had reported the thefts to police, but no arrests had been made. “The market is being guarded by the UPDF, but vendors have lost over Shs150 million worth of merchandise since last year. As a result, most of us, as per the attached list, have lost all our capital,” the vendors said in the petition.
The vendors asked the ministry to investigate the alleged thefts and help recover their money, saying the losses had left some traders without capital to continue operating their businesses. They also appealed to the government to provide Shs150 million to help traders who allegedly lost their merchandise restart their businesses. However, Andrew Kibwota Otim, the Commissioner for Urban Inspection at the Ministry of Local Government, directed the vendors to have the list of alleged victims and their losses verified before the Shs150 million figure could be adopted as the official value of the stolen merchandise.
Kitgum Assistant Resident District Commissioner Joseph Okidi said the verification would establish the actual number of affected vendors and the value of merchandise allegedly stolen. Okidi also disputed claims that more than 2,000 vendors had been affected, saying the list presented at the meeting contained fewer than 1,000 names. He said the verification would ensure that genuine victims whose names had been omitted are included, while names of people who did not lose merchandise are removed.
“If you know that this vendor has not lost property, you don’t need it in the list. If you know the other one lost and his name is not in the list, add on the list,” Okidi said. The vendors also complained about structural defects at the market, including cracks, a defective drainage system and flooding during heavy rains, which they said expose their merchandise to damage.
“When it rains, most parts of the market flood. The drainage is non-functioning. Some parts have cracks. The cameras installed never worked,” they said. They asked the ministry to investigate the defects and take corrective measures against the engineers and contractors responsible for the works.
Otim pledged to take the concerns about the market’s structural condition back to the ministry for consideration. Following the complaints, a meeting involving the vendors and local authorities resolved to strengthen security at the market by introducing a private security company, increasing the number of surveillance cameras and improving security lighting inside and around the facility.
Okidi said the UPDF would continue guarding the market until a private security company is secured. “We agreed to improve security in the area by introducing a private security company, which was also requested by the vendors. We also discussed improving the security by introducing more cameras,” he said.
The authorities also resolved that the market keys should be kept at the police station overnight and collected by market management in the morning. Okidi said the arrangement was a precautionary security measure and was not based on allegations that police officers had previously misused the keys.
“There was no threat from anyone, and there was no blame that somebody had at one time stolen as a result of having the key. It is just a security aspect, for safety and also so that nobody is caught offside,” he said. Okidi said the municipality had already addressed some points identified as possible entry routes for thieves, including an entrance used to access the market and sections of the structure suspected to have been used by thieves to gain entry.
He said district authorities were committed to working with vendors and the municipality to improve security, protect traders’ businesses and ensure the market achieves its intended economic objectives. The Shs2.6 billion market was constructed under the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Programme-II (MATIP II) and commissioned in October 2023 by President Yoweri Museveni. The market was designed to accommodate about 1,600 vendors but is currently occupied by about 60 percent of its capacity, according to Kitgum Municipality Mayor Richard Okwera Ojara-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
