Traders at Kiseka Market in Kampala shut their shops and fled for safety on Monday after gunfire erupted during an attempted arrest by security operatives, leaving business in parts of the area disrupted for several hours.
Witnesses said the confrontation occurred at the Original Kiseka Spare Parts Centre Arcade along Aga Khan Road, where plain-clothed armed operatives travelling in a minibus commonly referred to as a “drone” attempted to arrest a spare parts dealer.
According to traders, three armed men entered a shop on the second floor and tried to take the dealer into custody. The situation became tense when the trader reportedly asked the men to identify themselves and explain why he was being arrested.
“The officers appeared to be in a hurry and were unwilling to answer any questions,” a trader who asked not to be named said.
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“When they tried to forcefully drag him downstairs, other traders began shouting, asking who they were and where they were taking him.”
Witnesses said more operatives then emerged from the vehicle outside as traders gathered and demanded an explanation.
“People from other shops started shouting, ‘Who are you? Where are you taking him?’ Then six more men jumped out, took positions and started shooting in the air and at the sixth floor where mechanics were running and screaming. When they fired, people in the next arcade started throwing stones at them,” the trader said.
The shooting triggered panic across the busy commercial area, with traders abandoning their businesses and people seeking shelter.
Eyewitnesses said the operatives initially abandoned the attempted arrest after facing resistance. They reportedly drove towards Nabugabo police station before turning back towards the market, where witnesses said further shots were fired into the air.
Military Police personnel later arrived and secured the area, allowing calm to gradually return.
Joseph Akiiki, a motorcycle spare parts dealer, said traders were frightened by the shooting, particularly because some of the gunfire appeared to be directed towards upper floors where people had sought refuge.
“We are left with many questions,” Akiiki said. “We shut our shops and fled to save our lives. We do not understand the reason for the indiscriminate gunfire. Had their intention been to arrest criminals, they would not have come in plain clothes, as the public tends to resist unknown persons. Furthermore, why was there shooting inside the buildings? Innocent people could have been killed.”
Akiiki said he believed the operation was intended to result in arrests, although he could not independently establish who, if anyone, had been taken into custody.
Police spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke said security personnel had gone to the Original Kiseka Spare Parts Centre as part of an operation targeting suspected offenders.
He said some members of the public became violent and attempted to prevent officers from carrying out lawful arrests.
“The officers fired warning shots in the air to disperse the violent crowd and enable the operation to continue safely,” Kituuma said.
Videos apparently recorded during the confrontation have since circulated on social media, prompting debate about the methods used by security personnel during arrests in crowded areas.
Particular concern has focused on the deployment of armed officers in civilian clothing, with critics arguing that members of the public may struggle to distinguish security personnel from unidentified armed individuals.
The incident has added to a wider debate in Uganda about law-enforcement operations, accountability and the use of firearms in densely populated commercial areas.
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