A FAREWELL TO KAMPALA'S SOUL ERA
For decades, the name Owino has been more than just a destination, it has been a heartbeat. To step into St. Balikuddembe Market was to enter a sensory whirlwind, the smell of sun dried fish, the rhythmic call of second hand clothes dealers and the legendary "human GPS" required to navigate its narrow muddy arteries. But as the sun rose on March 8 2026, to reveal the mangled remains of stalls near the Nakivubo Channel, a realization set in, The old Owino was fading. The era of the sprawling, informal labyrinth is being forcibly traded for a vision of concrete, glass and urban order. The recent unauthorized demolitions, carried out under the cover of darkness, served as a violent punctuation mark to a long-running sentence. While the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has distanced itself from the reckless destruction, the message to the 50,000+ traders is clear, the ground beneath their feet is no longer theirs to hold. For years, Owino has been a site of Developm...