FDC Threatens Court Action Over Proposed Constitutional Square Development

What the report says

The Forum for Democratic Change has warned it may go to court to stop any move to commercialise Kampala’s Constitutional Square, also known as City Square, over a proposal to develop the site into a hotel and shopping mall. In the report published by Nile Post, the party said it could seek a caveat on the roughly two-acre property if authorities proceed with plans that could transfer, lease, sell or otherwise alienate the land.

FDC vice chairperson Robert Centenary said the party is responding to a proposal from Kampala businessman Hajj Hassan Bulwadda for what he has described as an eco-friendly hotel, mall and commercial complex. The opposition party argues that the square should remain a public space for civic activity, recreation, demonstrations and national gatherings, and it urged Kampala minister Minsa Kabanda and Kampala Capital City Authority to protect that mandate.

The party also said the square is a gazetted cultural site and monument, and raised concern about the loss of green and open space in the city centre. Centenary argued that the project would amount to taking over one of Kampala’s last public breathing spaces. The article also notes that the square has long been tied to political assembly and public disputes over land use.

According to Nile Post, the latest development follows a proposal letter dated 18 August 2026 and a 30 August directive from President Yoweri Museveni asking the minister to study the idea with KCCA and report back. The report says that instruction was for review, not approval, and the FDC says it will keep watching the process and move legally if needed.