Entry Into Owino Market

Owino Market, formally known as St Balikuddembe Market, was established in 1971 on the outer edge of the Central Business District of Kampala, almost 10 years after Uganda’s independence. It has grown to be Uganda's largest wholesale market and is my main site of study. Approaching Owino Market from the city centre, there are two main bridges that run over Nakivubo Channel serving as key entry points into the market. One of the two bridges hosted a delivery process that prior to observing, I would have deemed impossible.

At 9am on public holiday (National Heroes day) an empty truck maneuvered across what seemed to be a narrow foot bridge. About half of the space on the bridge was taken up by stalls set up on its sides; in the limited space left, a steady and constant flow of people and carts carried goods in and out of the market. The people on the bridge worked together to make space for the truck to exit the market– some individuals were reluctant to move, others were patient and supported the process. In a few minutes, the truck worked its way over the bridge and onto Nakivubo Place Road. As though I had not just seen a truck successfully exit the market, I started to doubt how the two trucks that I could see in the distance (parked inside the market) could navigate their way through the bustling activity all around them.

The entry routes into the market are contested by a range of different actors and spatial constraints but despite this, the daily processes of delivery continue to take place.