Uganda: since confinement, the harsh living conditions of sellers in the markets

Audio 02:20

Vendors in the Nakawa market have been sleeping at their workplace since the lockdown began in mid-June.

© RFI / Lucie Mouillaud

By: Lucie Mouillaud Follow

6 mins

Uganda has been confined since mid-June in the face of the new wave of Covid-19 hitting the country.

Among the restrictive measures, the ban on transport, the closure of places of worship and schools, and the curfew at 7 p.m.

In food markets, vendors must also stay overnight, on their stalls, to prevent the spread of the virus.

Difficult conditions while customers are increasingly scarce. 

Publicity

From our correspondent in Kampala,

On her stall, Nafika Madina opens the tarpaulin she has installed to protect herself from prying eyes during the night.

I sleep here, without a mattress, on wood.

I have a few fabrics that I use as blankets and plastic pillow bags

 , ”she says. 

Due to the lockdown, very few customers can access the Nakawa market.

Sales have fallen significantly for traders.

Nafika Madina has lost most of her income since mid-June.

The number of customers is reduced by three, people no longer come to the market.

As transport is prohibited, they can no longer travel there

, ”explains Nafika Madina.

More difficult conditions than during the previous confinement

A little further on, Joseph Wante is getting ready to go to bed. A few boxes and bags filled with straw placed on the ground serve as his bed. Next to it, on the side of the road, a pile of cassava that he will have to throw away in the morning. “

I can only keep cassava for two days. Afterwards, he perishes. Like this pile, arrived yesterday. It is now expired, no one can buy it now. Usually I sell two trucks of cassava a day and even before the end of my morning, at 9 am, I have used up all my stock. Now, selling the contents of a single truck is almost impossible,

 ”he laments. 

During the first lockdown last year, vendors were also expected to spend their nights at the market.

But for Joseph, the economic conditions were not so difficult.

Before the second confinement, we were just recovering from the first.

Some had credits.

And we had barely paid the school fees for our children.

So this confinement is very difficult,

 ”summarizes Joseph Wante. 

"I must stay, I have no choice"

Every evening, Josephine sits in front of the television set in the middle of the market to prepare the plantains that she cooks and sells during the day.

She worries that she will have to sleep on her stall for several more weeks. 

The next few weeks are going to be complicated.

Most of my clients come to the market for lunch and then go back to work, but this is no longer possible with confinement.

I have to stay, I have no choice, but it will be very difficult.

Despite the difficulties, Josephine is determined to stay until the end of confinement, to be able to send a minimum of money to her relatives.

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Uganda

  • Economy Africa