Kiosk owners protest eviction  from Kabale Hospital main gate

More than 100 kiosk owners operating next to the Kabale Regional Referral Hospital main gate have protested a directive issued by the district security committee, asking them to vacate the area.
While the district security committee says the directive is for security reasons, the traders say the directive is malicious and aimed at hurting their only source of income. 

Last week, the Kabale Resident District Commissioner, Mr Godfrey Nyakahuma, who is also the chairman of the district security committee, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the traders to vacate the premises or risk forceful eviction.

He said his decision was informed by the numerous complaints from the Kabale Hospital administration over connivance with health workers to steal government drugs.

There are also concerns that the kiosk operators do not have sanitary facilities and that their shelters harbour criminals, who later attack and rob health workers and intern students who work at night.
“We have asked the hospital administration to allocate space where a hospital canteen can be built to serve the needs of the patients and their attendants,” he said.

But the chairperson of the kiosk operators, Mr Lawrence Karubanda, on Tuesday dismissed the concerns. He said their operations are known by the Kabale Municipal Council leaders because they pay annual trading licences.
“It is not true that our members are conniving with some health workers to hide the stolen essential drugs from the hospital. It is not true that our kiosks harbour wrongdoers,” he said.

“The Kabale District leadership has the mandate to search and arrest any wrongdoers instead of giving us 21 days ultimatum to vacate our business premises some of which have been operating since 1994. This 21-day ultimatum is a malicious move aimed at frustrating our efforts of earning a living for our families and the government since we pay taxes,” Mr Karubanda added.

He explained that the kiosks serve about 500 people per day, including health workers, students from the neighboring nursing schools, patients, and their caregivers.
“In 2018, the Kabale Municipal Council authorities directed us to remove the wooden kiosks and replace them with metallic ones to avoid consequences of firebreak and we complied,” he said.

“We have a three-stance pit latrine and urinals to serve as places of convenience for both the kiosk operators and their customers. The allegations that we are operating without sanitary facilities is false,” Mr Karubanda added.

Ms Marion Arinitwe, a kiosk operator, said the ultimatum without giving them an alternative operating area was unfair to traders who servicing bank loans and families to look after.