Six Arrested as Uganda Railways Clears Port Bell Land of Encroachers

What the report says

Uganda Railways Corporation has started removing illegal settlements from railway reserve land at Port Bell in Kampala, according to the Nile Post, in an operation carried out with police and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces. The action focused on structures behind Port Bell Abattoir, where officials said people had built makeshift homes without permission. Six people were arrested during the exercise after some occupants resisted leaving.

The report says several structures were demolished and others were burnt as the clearance continued. URC used a public-address system to warn people living on railway land that such occupation creates safety concerns and disrupts railway operations. The corporation’s spokesperson, George Ssengendo, said the Port Bell exercise is part of a broader national effort to recover encroached railway land, and urged residents to leave voluntarily before enforcement reaches other areas.

The clearance follows a Cabinet directive issued on September 28, 2026, ordering the removal of encroachers from railway land and demolition of illegal structures nationwide. Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama later instructed URC to act on the decision. The wider government plan is tied to rehabilitation of Uganda’s metre-gauge rail network, including the Kampala-Malaba corridor, with corridor protection also expected in areas such as Kampala, Wakiso and Jinja. In general, railway encroachment has long been a challenge for URC, which has previously been flagged in audit reporting as it works to secure its land and infrastructure.