The Kampala Capital City Traders Association (KACITA), has petitioned Parliament over a crackdown on public Wi-Fi hotspot resellers, calling for affordable licensing requirements to protect livelihoods and support the growing digital economy.
The traders say the recent enforcement operation by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), involving arrests and confiscation of equipment, threatens about 40,000 operators. They also raised concerns over networking equipment impounded by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
KACITA presented its petition to the Committee on Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance on Wednesday, 28 October 2026 during a stakeholder interaction chaired by Hon. Andrew Ojok.
Disan Kayima, KACITA’s ICT Director, told the meeting attended by the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Hon. Justine Kasule Lumumba, her deputy, Hon. Yorke Alioni, technical officials and industry players, that the crackdown had affected both hotspot operators and businesses supplying networking equipment.
“Suppliers of equipment used by hot spotters such as switches, routers are worried, because many of the colleagues in the sector are stuck, many containers are impounded by the URA,” said Kayima.
He urged government to consider the sector’s contribution to employment and access to affordable internet when determining the proposed licensing requirements.
“I am partially surviving out of the advances I get from social media, and I am able to access affordable internet from the hotspots. My plea is that government can, through Parliament, help to regularise us to get a favourable license,” he said.
KACITA wants Parliament to ensure that UCC does not set the license fee beyond Shs 3 million leveraging on the rates set in Kenya.
“I beg the committee to propose and back our position, and support the 40,000 hot spotters who are going to expand our economy and help to generate more revenue, because all they need is manageable regulation like the one of Kenya,” he said.
A Wi-Fi hotspot seller, Kalid Ssenona, disputed allegations that operators hack into the networks of licensed providers such as MTN and Airtel. He asked government to recognise their contribution to the digital economy.
“Government collects as much revenue on a daily basis, they should recognise what we are bringing on the table,” he said.
KACITA spokesperson, Issa Ssekito, backed formalising the trade arguing that it would improve accountability and widen the revenue base while protecting struggling businesses.
“If we formalise this informal economic activity, the sector will be accountable and provide a big revenue source, I thought this is good because the Ugandan business community Is struggling, anybody that establishes or earns revenue consistently needs recognition,” said Ssekito.
Responding to the petition, Alioni said the ministry and its stakeholders would consider the traders’ concerns and provide guidance within a month.
He outlined proposed national and regional licensing categories, each requiring an incorporated company, a US$2,500 registration fee and an annual license fee of US$2,000 for national suppliers and US$1,200 for regional suppliers.
Minister Kasule Lumumba, on her part requested for two weeks to conclude consultations and report back to the committee and called for a halt to the impounding of imported equipment by URA.
“We agreed to two weeks of no arrests, no confiscation, and while this is going on, to meet all stakeholders, the licensed suppliers, Ministry of Finance, and URA. We need to comeback with commitments from UCC,” she said.
MPs supported regulation but urged the ministry and UCC to establish clear requirements that operators could meet without losing their livelihoods. “We want to see the traders compliant, but we need to understand what constitutes compliance, what boxes should they tick to qualify for compliance,” said Ojok.
He also cautioned KACITA against reported threats to destroy internet infrastructure in a strike, warning that such actions would amount to economic sabotage.
The committee’s deputy chairperson, Hon. Iddi Basajja, urged operators to improve the installation of internet poles and wires, citing disorderly infrastructure in Kampala Capital City and cautioned KACITA against using the media to insult the regulator and the ministry.
