Buganda Kingdom Prime Minister (Katikkiro) Charles Peter Mayiga has called for the preservation of Kampala’s City Square as a public green space as government reviews a proposal to redevelop part of the site into a commercial complex.
Mayiga said Kampala needs more open spaces and parks, rather than additional malls, hotels and apartments.
“We don’t lack sites for malls, hotels, and apartments. Kampala, especially the metropolitan areas, are basically virgin. The heart of the city needs to breathe,” he said in a post on X.
His comments come as government reviews a proposal by businessman Hassan Bulwadda to develop about two acres of City Square into a modern, eco-friendly complex featuring a hotel, shopping mall and other commercial facilities powered by solar energy.
President Yoweri Museveni directed Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs Minsa Kabanda on 30 August 2026 to study the proposal, consult the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and report back to him. Government has since stressed that no final decision has been made on the redevelopment.
The proposal has also revived a separate dispute over the same property involving businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba.
Appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on 23 September, Basajjabalaba said his company, HABA Group, won a tender in 2001 to redevelop the approximately 2.5-acre City Square.
He said HABA Group paid the then Kampala City Council Shs1.6 billion as a premium before the agreement was later cancelled. Basajjabalaba is now seeking compensation from government over the cancelled deal.
Basajjabalaba told the committee that his company’s original plan would have preserved the green space above the square while allowing commercial activities to be developed underneath it.
The City Square debate has therefore brought renewed attention to the future of one of Kampala’s prominent public spaces, with government still considering the latest redevelopment proposal.
