GULU MAIN MARKET VENDORS PROTEST AGAINST OUTSIDE VENDING

Protesting vendors hold placards on the street.

By Odong Stephen and Biko Rombe
Gulu City

Gulu main market venders on Wednesday June 4, 2025 staged a strike over outside vending. Vendors who sell inside the market said, they took the initiative because they don’t get sales because of the outside vendors yet they are expected to pay taxes, rent and licenses.
 
One of the vendors identified as Ojok Denis said that they pay high rent yet those who sell outside only pay one thousand shillings.
 
“For us we are suffering inside there, if you go inside there you will find that the lowest rent is one hundred fifty thousand shillings, others pay two hundred thousand shillings while others three hundred thousand but we are selling the same things that other people are selling outside, and yet they are charged only one thousand per day and the town Clerk doesn’t know those things,” angry Ojok said.

Alice Ange, a vendor at Gulu main market says their complaints to stop outside vendors have always fallen on deaf ears whenever they send to the market leader. ”It’s now a year and we are not moving out of these challenges, so for us, we want our market leaders to make sure that this space is clear and no more business should continue here but for many times we have been sending our complaints but they didn’t listen and this is the way we are showing them that we are tired of this,” said Ange.
 
Ronald Odongkara Joe, the spokesperson of Gulu main market vendors association, said outside vending has taken over inside vending and yet it is not allowed.
 
“The law governing this market since it was established doesn’t allow outside vending but now outside vending has taken over inside vending to the level that inside vendors are not able to get money the way they ought to,” said Odongkara.
 
Peter Banya the deputy RCC of Pece -Laroo division in Gulu city said as leaders, they now have work to do for vendors to sell peacefully. “It is us the leaders who have organized the market and it is us the same leaders who have messed it up so it is our turn to fix it,” said Banya.

Banya also blamed the market security for not performing their duties because they were the ones to contain and make sure vendors follow the time given to them to sell outside which was to start from 5:30 pm.
 
Peter Banya in Blue Coat, Deputy RCC addressing protestors amidst riots
 
Gulu Main Market was constructed at the cost of 29 billion shillings under the Market Agricultural Trade Improvement Project- MATIP and commissioned by President Museveni in 2016 with the expected capacity to accommodate over 4,000 vendors.