Police are holding at least 13 traders following violent clashes that rocked downtown Kampala for a second day on Wednesday, as shop owners continued to protest against what they called unbearable taxes and government inaction on their concerns.
According to Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luke Owesigire, eleven of the suspects were arrested for inciting violence, while two others face charges of assaulting officers on duty.
The running battles broke out early Wednesday morning, with traders in Kikuubo, Ben Kiwanuka Street, and surrounding arcades defying security orders to reopen shops. Police and military officers fired tear gas and live bullets in the air to disperse protesters, who responded by pelting stones, bottles, and metal objects from arcade balconies.
By mid-morning, crowds of traders had taken to the streets waving Ugandan flags, some with tape over their mouths to symbolize being silenced, while others blew whistles and chanted, “High taxes must fall.”
One protester shouted, “We are tired of taxes, we are tired of rent, we are tired of suffering,” before being bundled into a waiting police pickup.
The Uganda National Traders Alliance chairperson, Godfrey Katongole, said the strike was reignited after repeated attempts to engage government officials failed.
“Traders think we have betrayed them. Everything is high taxes, rent, electricity. We have held meetings with government, but nothing has been answered. Enough is enough. Let traders take over the city,” said Katongole.
He added that the protests were meant to send a strong message to the authorities that traders were struggling to stay in business under the current tax regime.
Traders are protesting against unfair VAT, the enforcement of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS), import taxes on fabrics, the non-refund of the 6 percent Withholding Tax, and the continued operation of petty foreign traders in local retail business.