A ‘Market for the People’? Changing structures of governance and participation in a Ugandan marketplace

Abstract

Informal systems of governance in Africa are being reshaped as they come into contact with governments, donors and businesses seeking new ways of accessing and regulating informal activities. In 2012, amidst violent confrontations, the Kampala City Council Authority took over the management of Nakasero Market from a group of vendors. The takeover marked the end of a ten-year cycle during which the market was managed by the city council, private contractors, the vendors themselves and the council once more. Drawing on interviews, observations and secondary material gathered over twelve months of fieldwork, this article presents an analysis of the different actors and mechanisms involved in the governance of Nakasero, and the implications of these changes on everyday life in the market. It argues that while vendors have been able to demonstrate agency in the battle for the management of the market, external political and economic interests have conspired to create internal instability and division, distancing people within the market from the decisions that threaten its future.