Nakivubo Channel

**Nakivubo Channel** is the main dirty water movement channel in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It is about nine kilometres long. The channel carries rainwater from many busy parts of the city and sends it toward Lake Victoria. It also collects water from smaller side drains, including the Jugula drainage line.

For many years, Nakivubo Channel has been very important for Kampala’s drainage system, but it has also had many problems. It has often been blocked by rubbish, soil and waste. This has caused floods, bad smells and harm to the environment. Because of these problems, many people have talked about how to repair or improve the channel.

In 2024, people again paid attention to the channel because new plans were made to improve it and cover some parts of it. These plans came after CAF said the area around the new Nakivubo Stadium needed to be safer and cleaner as Uganda prepared to host AFCON 2027. 

In April 2025, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Council agreed that skilled local investors could help rebuild and cover important open drainage channels, as long as the work was guided and checked by KCCA’s technical teams. Later in the same year, businessman Hamis Kiggundu, through his company KIHAM Enterprises (U) Ltd, suggested a plan to make the Nakivubo Channel wider, cleaner and stronger, and to cover it as part of a project paid for with private money. The plan gained more support after a *presidential directive* (an order from the President) in August 2025, which told government offices to help the planned works go ahead.

The plan is to cover the open channel and let the water move inside a strong underground system. This is meant to help rainwater move better, stop rubbish from blocking the channel, make the area safer for people and improve how the place looks. The plan also includes building tall commercial buildings on top of the covered parts of the channel so that the investor can get back the money spent on the project. As of 2025, the work is still going on in stages. Many people — including the public, engineers and environmental groups — are still watching and discussing the project.

## About the channel 
The Nakivubo drainage line was first built to carry rainwater from the crowded middle parts of Kampala. These areas include Makerere Kivulu, Bat Valley, Nakasero, Owino Market and the industrial area. Fast growth of the city, loss of wetlands and poor care over many years made the channel weaker and dirtier. By the 2000s and 2010s, the channel was full of soil, damaged in some places and often used as a dumping place for rubbish. This made floods more common in downtown areas such as Kikuubo, Clock Tower and Nakivubo Trading Centre.

The Nakivubo wetland around the channel used to help clean dirty water before it reached Lake Victoria. Over time, people built houses and businesses on the wetland. This made the wetland much smaller. Because of this, it can no longer hold floodwater or clean the water as well as before.

## Floods and city problems 
Kampala often has flooding, especially when it rains very heavily. Blocked inlets, small culverts, illegal dumping and building too close to drains have been named in government and World Bank reports as main reasons for drainage problems. Big floods in 2019, 2023 and 2025 damaged many businesses and public services. These floods increased public calls for better drainage systems in Kampala.

The channel has also been linked to health risks. Water in the channel can contain plastics, faecal matter and industrial waste. The open channel has raised safety concerns, because some reports say that criminals have used it as a hiding place.

## Stadium rebuild and new attention (2024–2025) 
The rebuilding of Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium in 2024 brought new attention to the channel. Inspections by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), FUFA and FIFA found that the stadium itself was strong enough, but they pointed out problems near it. These problems included open drains, rubbish and unsafe roads and paths around the stadium.

After these inspections, workers cleared rubbish and removed mud and soil from the channel around the stadium. This helped water flow better for a short time. The condition of Nakivubo Channel later became one of the main issues in Uganda’s plans for co-hosting AFCON 2027.

## Plans to rebuild the channel 
In early 2025, new plans were made to cover, widen and improve parts of the channel through work shared between government and private investors. The plans aimed to change the open trench into a strong underground drain and to build commercial buildings or public spaces on top. People who supported the plan said it would help reduce flooding, improve safety and make the surrounding city area look better. Critics worried about harm to the environment, how the project would be controlled and who would take care of this big public drainage channel in the future.

In July 2025, businessman Dr. Hamis Kiggundu sent a formal proposal to President Yoweri Museveni explaining a plan to clean, widen, cover and rebuild the channel using private money. The proposal said that the open channel was a big cause of flooding, rubbish build-up and public health risks. It also said that building commercial projects on top of the covered channel would help pay for the works.

On 2 August 2025, President Museveni issued a directive supporting the proposal and telling the Prime Minister and other ministries to help the project move forward.  The order allowed the rebuilding to start and led to early works such as clearing the site and cleaning the drainage in mid-August 2025 under government supervision.

## Government actions 
In April 2025, KCCA Council passed a formal decision allowing qualified private investors to rebuild and cover important open drainage channels, as long as KCCA supervised the work. Later in 2025, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) gave Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) approval for one of the planned projects, but with conditions to reduce harm to people and nature.

Parliamentary committees, including the Committee on Physical Infrastructure, visited the channel to check the works. Their reports noted some engineering improvements but also said that strong rules and proper compliance were still needed.

## October 2025 flooding 
Heavy rain on 31 October 2025 caused serious flooding in central Kampala. The floods affected arcades, shops and main transport routes. The incident increased public debate about the condition of the channel and whether the rebuilding works were enough. Government reports said that blocked culverts and inlets further upstream were key reasons for the flooding. The event also increased calls for wider drainage improvements across the whole city, not only at Nakivubo Channel.

## Environment worries 
Nakivubo Channel is part of a larger wetland system that used to help clean Kampala’s dirty water before it reached Lake Victoria. Environmental groups and community organisations have warned that covering or changing the channel, without also improving waste collection and protecting the remaining wetlands, could make the environment weaker and less able to recover from problems. Concerns include losing what is left of the wetland functions, putting more pressure on man-made drainage systems, long-term environmental damage and questions about who will maintain the new structures. NEMA’s Environmental Social Impact Assessment approval included conditions and steps to reduce these risks.

As of late 2025, work to improve the Nakivubo Channel is still going on in stages. Some parts of the channel have already been cleaned, widened or made stronger. Plans to cover some sections and build on top of them have also been approved by planning and environmental authorities.. Work continues under the oversight of KCCA, the Ministry for Kampala and national environmental authorities.

The channel still carries rainwater, but it is also central to many important discussions about how Kampala should plan its city, deal with climate change, work with private investors and improve its drainage systems in the future.

## References