The Uganda government has announced plans to identify and demolish old buildings in Kampala that have "outlived their usefulness" as part of a wider push to enforce physical planning standards and reshape the country's urban centers. State Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development Princess Persis Namuganza said the exercise will start in Kampala before extending to other cities and municipalities. The government wants to move away from urban development in which buildings emerge with little regard for surrounding infrastructure, access, and the wider layout of an area.
Namuganza made the remarks at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala ahead of the second Uganda Real Estate and Housing Expo. She said the government was implementing the national physical planning and physical development plan to guide how land, buildings, and human settlements develop across the country. The plan aims to ensure that buildings are constructed with consideration for surrounding infrastructure, access, and the wider layout of an area. The government will mark buildings that do not fit the planned character of cities and towns with an "X".
The Building Control Act, Cap. 136, as amended by the Building Control (Amendment) Act, 2026, provides the legal framework for dealing with buildings that have effectively outlived their usefulness. The Act empowers Building Committees to issue written notices requiring owners to demolish buildings or take remedial action to a standard determined by the committee. The amendment also expands the powers of the National Building Review Board to issue stop or evacuation orders where safety is compromised and a Building Committee fails to act.
Namuganza said owners who need to redevelop their properties but cannot afford to do so would have an opportunity to work with the government through public-private partnerships. The government and property owners could share units in the redeveloped property or agree on another way to meet redevelopment costs. The government can also buy off such land. This move aims to provide an opportunity for property owners to redevelop their properties while also ensuring that the government's urban development goals are met.
However, some real estate developers have urged caution, warning that targeting existing properties could hurt their owners without necessarily solving the deeper problems of congestion and poor planning. Yasin Bakaluba suggested that the government could establish properly planned urban areas elsewhere, where roads, buildings, and other infrastructure could be designed together from the beginning. This approach would allow for the creation of new, well-planned urban areas while avoiding the challenges of retrofitting existing cities.
Another developer, Charles Mwesige, warned against treating every old building as a problem, arguing that some properties carry architectural or historical value and should be preserved even when redevelopment becomes necessary. He argues that redevelopment depends on laws and planning decisions that can distinguish between different types of property. The debate highlights the challenges of balancing urban development with property rights and the need for careful consideration of the impact of redevelopment on existing property owners.
The government is set to implement the Uganda Cities and Municipal Infrastructure Development Programme, a wider programme intended to support improvements in cities, municipalities, and other participating local governments. As part of this programme, the ministry will conduct free land and title searches as part of implementing the national housing policy. The immediate question for property owners is what the government's proposed redevelopment drive will mean in practice, and the details of the plan will determine whether it becomes an orderly redevelopment programme or a source of disputes between government and property owners.
Key points
- The Uganda government plans to demolish old buildings in Kampala that have "outlived their usefulness" as part of a wider push to enforce physical planning standards.
- The government will mark buildings that do not fit the planned character of cities and towns with an "X".
- Property owners who cannot afford to redevelop their properties will have the opportunity to work with the government through public-private partnerships.
