KAMPALA — Uganda’s capital enters November 2026 managing a familiar set of urban pressures, but the specifics are new. Police have arrested 32 people in two separate operations targeting the informal economies that flourish in the gaps of the city’s regulation—fuel siphoning and spare-parts theft. On the city’s outskirts, communities in Adjumani are cut off by floods that have submerged crops and forced residents to build makeshift bridges from timber. And in the corridors of power, the arrest of a former deputy defence chief has exposed fractures within the security establishment that the government is struggling to contain.
The Fuel Siphoners of Kibuli
On November 2, Kampala Metropolitan Police conducted a search-and-cordon operation in Kitoro and Agip Zones, Kibuli Parish, Makindye Division, targeting individuals suspected of illegally siphoning fuel from motor vehicles and reselling it to motorists. Fourteen suspects were arrested. Police recovered 192 jerrycans containing suspected fuel residues, 16 containers of suspected fuel, 24 fuel-siphoning tubes, two motorcycles, and three motor vehicles. Samples were collected for forensic analysis to determine whether the fuel was contaminated .
The operation reveals a persistent shadow economy in Kampala’s transport sector. Fuel siphoning—draining tanks from parked vehicles and reselling the contents at cut-rate prices—thrives where formal fuel costs are high and enforcement is uneven. The scale of the seizure, with nearly 200 jerrycans recovered in a single operation, suggests an organized trade rather than isolated opportunism. The suspects face charges of unlawful dealing in petroleum products as investigations continue .
Kisekka Market: The Spare-Parts Networks
Two days later, on November 4, police from Jinja Road Station conducted an intelligence-led operation in Kisekka, targeting two arcades—Ravens Plaza and Life Arcade—known for the sale of motor vehicle spare parts. Eighteen suspects, including two women, were arrested. Exhibits recovered included vehicle grilles, side mirrors, baby mirrors, headlamps, rear lamps, and other accessories .
The operation followed complaints from the public about thefts of vehicle accessories during traffic jams and from parked vehicles. Kisekka Market is a major commercial centre for spare parts, and the police action was framed as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle criminal networks involved in theft, promotion, and facilitation of stolen goods . Both operations reflect a city where informal commerce and criminality overlap, and where police respond episodically to problems that are structural rather than isolated.
Adjumani: A Village Cut Off
Northwest of Kampala, in Adjumani District, the rains have brought a different kind of crisis. Over the weekend, River Zoka burst its banks, flooding the entire village of Rubangabin and parts of neighbouring Ofu—an area with close to 700 households. Residents are cut off from schools, health facilities, and markets. With no bridge, they wade through the river or rely on a makeshift structure built from locally sourced timber .
The community has resorted to self-help. Every household contributes Shs5,000 to hire a machine to split timber for the bridge. “We launched a voluntary mobilisation drive,” said resident Daniel Anyanzo. “We have used the money to hire a machine to split timber for making a wooden makeshift bridge” .
Nearly 20 acres of farmland have been submerged, destroying rice, tomatoes, cabbages, and sweet potatoes. For many farmers, the floods follow a difficult first planting season when prolonged dry spells already damaged crops. “We anticipate acute hunger at the beginning of next year,” said Karim Akasa, the village LC1 chairperson .
The local sub-county chairperson, George Origa Andruga, said authorities lack the legal authority to build a permanent bridge because the land across the river is subject to an ongoing dispute between local communities and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. “Until we establish the correct boundaries of the area under UWA, we cannot put a bridge here,” he said .
The Elwelu Affair
In the security establishment, the arrest of retired Lt Gen Peter Elwelu, former Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, has become a public dispute over the terms of his custody. Elwelu was taken into custody in Soroti on November 2 following a security operation linked to allegations of subversive activities and plans to destabilize the Teso sub-region .
The UPDF rejected media reports that President Museveni had personally assured Elwelu of his safety in negotiations leading to his surrender. Acting Director of Defence Public Information Col Chris Magezi said Elwelu “gave himself up peacefully because the security forces had closed in on him” and that “at no point did the President and the Commander-In-Chief offer Elwelu assurances for his personal safety.” He added that Elwelu “will be held fully accountable for his actions in the UPDF General Court Martial” .
The military had earlier claimed that security forces recovered 15 firearms, military uniforms, and two pickup trucks allegedly linked to the retired general. The allegations have not been tested in court . The case has drawn attention to tensions within the security apparatus and the government’s determination to project control over a former senior officer now accused of plotting against it.
A City Holding Its Breath
Kampala’s challenges are not unique, but they are concentrated. The fuel siphoners and spare-parts thieves operate in the same city where the Uganda Law Society has ordered its members to boycott the Chief Justice’s thanksgiving ceremony over concerns about judicial independence and the detention of political prisoners . The floods in Adjumani are a reminder that the El Niño rains that KCCA has prepared for with drainage clearing and culvert installations will test communities far beyond the capital’s blackspots.
For the residents of Rubangabin wading through a flooded river to reach a health centre, for the motorists whose fuel tanks are drained in the night, and for a retired general awaiting court martial, Kampala’s pressures are felt in different registers. The city holds together, as it always has, through improvisation and endurance. But the makeshift bridge and the jerrycans of siphoned fuel are signs of a system that is being tested at its edges.
