Traders lost billions after floods hit lower Kampala due to Nakivubo channel redevelopment works By Prisca WanyenyaLegislators castigated the National Building Review Board (NBRB) for neglecting their duties to inspect the quality of works at Nakivubo channel which left traders lose their merchandise, despite outcry from the public on the risk the works would cause.This was during a meeting between the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) and the National Building Review Board, held on 6th November 2026, held to consider the December 2025 Auditor General’s report, where Gerald Nangoli (Elgon County) sought an update on how far the Board had gone in fulfilling the presidential directive to review the works for the redevelopment of Nakivubo by businessman Hammis Kiggundu.“That you are supposed to review the Ham properties along the Nakivubo whether they meet the building standards. How far have you gone? Can you brief the committee, because it is one of the issues that has been in the limelight,” remarked Nangoli.Eng. Flavia Guto, Executive Secretary of the National Building Review Board informed the Committee that the Board has done all the tests that we needed to do, had recovered all the drawings that we needed and had interfaced with all the engineers on site, including the developer himself but the team faced some delays after some information wasn’t availed to the Board to expedite the review.She noted, “We should be able to issue our report in the next two weeks, so we are simply at this point analysing the test results. Now, because this is a building that had already taken place, it had already been finalised. We had to scan the entire building and do a model, we had to model it.”However, the Chairperson of COSASE, Muwada Nkunyingi wasn’t satisfied with the response given by Eng. Guto wondering why the Board had to wait for the Presidential directives before carrying out their mandate of monitoring all buildings in Uganda.He noted, “If you are a body that is legally mandated over buildings, why would you wait for a presidential directive? Isn’t it an aspect of failure to execute your task? Should you at all times be reminded by some orders above that you ought to pick interest in such a matter? Did it skip your mind, or you thought it wasn’t within your mandate? Because now you are dealing with a post-mortem, the building is already there, and an investor has already put in money, and then the tenants are even there, they have also paid for months.”Muwada added, “Professionally, you cannot skip mentioning such a risk. Now you are causing a jeopardy either way, to the tenants, the developer, to now to everyone. Yet your board was supposed to oversee and probably identify such risks or any possible defects. What would be your response on that?” Eng. Guto explained that the Board’s mandate is to oversee, inspect, and monitor the operations of the districts building committees which is why the Board wrote to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) but some of this information wasn’t availed to the Board. She added that when an audit on Nakivubo works was done, the premises had been issued partial occupation permit.“So, we did write to the building committee, asked the people in charge of this jurisdiction to give us a report on what was going on there, this report did not come. We issued a reminder on that report. And when we issued that reminder, they did write back to us because at this time, the Minister of Works had put together a team headed by the Chairperson of the Engineers Registration Board to undertake an assessment. So, when the Minister put together this team, that team asked us to go and do something and we told them it is not our mandate, but then we asked the committee to pick this information and give it to the committee,” noted Eng. Guto.Richard Ssalongo Senteza (Lugazi Municipality) rejected Eng. Guto’s assertion that the National Building Review Board has no powers to monitor buildings in Uganda as that mandate is meant to be done by District Building Committees arguing that the lower level Committees are meant to feed into the National body.He argued, “You as the building review board, you cannot be sitting in Kampala and you supervise someone in Karamoja. So, who does it on your behalf? This committee. So, it is part and parcel of you. So, if this district building committee is part and parcel of your Board, then why do you wait for things to go astray, then you say, we did not have anyone reporting that a building is collapsing in Kapelebyong so we did not do anything. Why should you wait? Why should you be reactionary that a building has collapsed?”Muwada cited the Board Act that stipulates the functions of the National Building Review Board that includes; to monitor building developments, ensure that the design and construction of buildings and utilities to which the public is to have access, cater for persons with disabilities, wondering how the Board can argue that it had no mandate to inspect the works for the redevelopment of Nakivubo channel.He said, “Now, why haven’t you utilised this provision to monitor whatever you see in a development? For example, if the President wrote instructing you to investigate Nakivubo anyone in Uganda who was hearing ongoing construction and even seeing it in the media, mainly for you as the National Building Review Board, you only heard of the building after receiving a letter from the president, it doesn’t add up.”Eng. Guto then informed the Committee that the one time the Board attempted to inspect a building, the owner dragged the Board to Court and the Board lost the case and was ordered to pay damages, which explains why the Board curtailed on its mandate and focus on moving into a site after a complain had been raised or building had fallen.She explained, “The first attempt to do that landed us in the courts of law, and we lost the case. From that understanding that we are supposed to go and monitor building developments, arising from that, that’s actually why the amendment came into place because in the wisdom of court, we overstepped our mandate. That is why we lost the case, and we were supposed to actually pay for doing exactly that.”The Committee however rejected the assertion that Court barred the Board from inspecting building arguing that matters of statutory determination, constitutionality and interpretation are done by the Constitutional Court.Muwada argued, “You may even have lost a case of the technicality. Because now, as buildings are collapsing, you cannot say that because there was some judgement somewhere, which is not at the extreme end of the appellate jurisdiction, that you also gave up on your mandate. Now, if you are to relent and to abandon your principal duty of monitoring, then this country is destined for trouble.”The post “You Waited for President’s Order”: MPs Blast Building Board Over Nakivubo Disaster appeared first on Business Focus.