84-Year-Old Nansana Widow Devastated as Home Razed for Road Project Without Warning or Pay

Ms Regina Nampiima, an 84-year-old widow from Wamala Mukataba village in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District, is reeling after heavy machinery demolished her rental buildings on April 16, 2026. The destruction came amid a road expansion project linking Nansana-Wamala-Katooke and Maganjo-Jinja Kaloli, part of the Greater Kampala infrastructure initiative funded by the World Bank and handled by China Railway 18th Bureau Group at Shs33.9 billion.

Nampiima and neighbors had cooperated earlier, allowing surveyors on their land after municipal officials measured plots and secured signed consents. She recalls verbal promises that her home was secure, leading residents to surrender land portions despite no compensation funds being available.

The shock came without notice. While Nampiima slept, graders deviated from marked paths and tore into her property. Grandchildren alerted her as tenants fled, leaving her without her sole income source. Her diabetes and hypertension worsened; she went hungry, relying on handouts to feed her family.

Others suffered too. Ms Edith Katende Musaasizi returned from a funeral to find her family’s four-room commercial building gone—no warning or court order. Shopkeeper Ms Sylvia Nalukwago lost Shs2.3 million in mobile money stock during the frantic evacuation ordered by municipal jacket-wearing men.

A grievances committee member, speaking anonymously, questioned why demolitions exceeded demarcated lines after consents were signed based on safety assurances. They blamed municipal officials, not the contractor.

Nansana physical planner Mr Simon Kiguli defended the action, stating structures sat in the road reserve. The 15-meter-wide road requires at least six meters setback for safety and planning rules. He urged Nampiima’s relatives to submit written concerns for possible compensation under the GKMA-Urban Development Program.

Source: Daily Monitor