Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) backed by heavy police deployment Thursday early morning stormed the New Taxi Park and blocked all entrances, barring taxis and vendors from accessing the site.
Most vendors and business people owning lockups in the taxi park were shocked to find the entire place sealed off and armed antiriot policemen guarding and monitoring the place.
Early risers who own businesses in the park got stranded outside the now empty yard but after pleading with the law enforcers and the Commander Kampala Metropolitan Police, Andrew Kaweesi and Regional Police Commander, Kampala North Stephen Tanui, were allowed inside to pick their items.
They were however subjected to thorough security checkup and scrutiny, allowing only those with known businesses.
Others sat outside their lockups as they waited for their colleagues to arrive with keys to access their merchandise and immediately started picking whatever they had. KCCA men kept on ordering owners to hurry removing their merchandise or risk losing them.
Lorries were seen loading goods as others carried whatever they could on their heads and carts.
Several business people complained that they had been notified to leave by Monday next week but they were shocked to receive phone calls from colleagues that they had been ordered to leave immediately.
Police said they were also looking for some individuals who were mobilizing people to resist eviction.
Tanui said grading of the park that had been halted would resume in the afternoon after ensuring that most people have removed their merchandise.
Heavy trucks and graders were parked as they waited for an order to resume work. Most passengers who were not aware of the new developments could not easily trace the new locations of each respective stages.
Some taxi touts however stood outside the park with signposts directing a few individuals of the new alternatives.
