Gumbo market: A sanctuary for Ugandans in South Sudan

Since December 2013 when fighting between forces loyal to South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his Vice President, Dr Riek Machar broke out, insecurity in towns has reached higher levels.

At 7pm, streets in Juba, the South Sudan capital, are nearly empty.
People, especially foreigners, rush to their homes early enough before armed groups sweep the streets.

However, there is one place that does not sleep. It is Famms Commercial Market, which is popularly known as Gumbo market.
Although Gumbo market is sandwiched by military and police facilities whose occupants are often accused of human rights abuses by human rights activists, it is a sanctuary for many Ugandans in South Sudan.

Gumbo market is dominated by thousands of Ugandan traders and it has one of the largest concentration of Ugandans in South Sudan.
The market is a complete town with Ugandans in charge of residential areas, car bonds, religious facilities, medical facilities, banking facilities, power and water systems, a radio station and other hospitality services.

The market leaders put the population of Ugandans who reside in the market at 5,000 people. During day, the numbers of traders go beyond that.

Mr Emmanle Leju, a trader in Juba, says even during the fiercest fighting in 2013 when looting and attacks on foreigners and traders were at their peak, the market was not affected.
“In 2013, when war broke out, Ugandans were trapped in the capital city. They could not flee through Nimule-Juba road since it was blocked by fighting and the other alternative was to fly out of the country, but majority did not have the money to travel by air. They ran to Gumbo market, which was secure,” Leju, a South Sudanese national, says.
He adds that when Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) went to rescue Ugandans and other nationals trapped in South Sudan, Gumbo market was the area where they found them assembled.

Surprisingly, the market is just a recent creation.
In 2014, Ugandan traders established this market after the South Sudanese authorities threatened to demolish the first Ugandan dominated fruit market called Konyo Konyo in the middle of Juba City.

Mr Iddi Mutebi, the chairman for Famms Commercial Market, says traders contributed money to the project with a promise that each would get one or more stalls or shops in the new market.
“At least 2,000 Ugandan traders contributed funds and land was acquired on which we built shops and stalls in the new market after we secured a 14-year tenancy,” Mutebi says.

No sooner had business picked up in the market in a marshland than trouble emerged.
The landlords repossessed the land and all the built structures on it.
The Ugandan leaders of the market were detained by security agencies and Ugandan traders, who had paid their money for the stalls panicked.

It took the intervention of the former Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, to secure their release and settlement of the ownership wrangle.
The incident was the turning point for the market and its tenants.

Mr Silver Katende, a watermelon dealer in Gumbo market, says there was a sigh of relief.
“This is where you find real liberty for Ugandans in the entire Juba. No Ugandan can be picked by any security officer without cause or informing our leaders and police commanders attached to market unlike in other areas,” Mr Katende says.

The market is zoned with its northern side near the main road accommodating shops for wholesale products. Behind them are stalls for fruits, chicken and other perishable goods.
In the middle is an open space where trucks offload goods.

On the southern side, there is a hotel, a mosque and car bond. The western side is where most Ugandan traders reside.
Traders say residing in one area, especially in the market, saves them from routine searches by people, who claim to be security agents at night which other foreigners experience in other parts of South Sudan. Most of the searches end in extortion and abuse of human rights.

Mr Benson Muwanguzi, the chairman of pineapple and watermelon dealers in Gumbo market, says some Ugandan traders renting houses out of the market often get problems with their local landlords.
“Most traders outside the market pay between Shs50,000 and Shs150,000 for a room per month. That is money for a few meals in South Sudan because of the drop in the value of the South Sudanese Pound. In the middle of the month, the local landlord will come and ask for rent advance or even food from the tenant,” Mr Muwanguzi says.

He says it is better staying within the market where there is rent stability. The eastern part is allocated for financial institutions, power and water systems and entertainment.

In a capital city, that is virtually under curfew at around 9pm, entertainment is only enjoyed in Gumbo market where songs by Ugandan artistes such as Jose Chameleon and David Lutalo, are heard hundreds of metres away past midnight.

Mr Katende says the market is like a Ugandan embassy in South Sudan.
“One time a Ugandan died of natural causes in Jeber. The South Sudanese authority did not take the body to Uganda’s embassy, but brought it in the market and handed it over to our leaders,” he says.

He says their leaders mobilised financial resources and transported the body back to Uganda.
Mr Eriasa Mugagga, the chairman of traders in Famms Commercial Market, says business in the market is booming again as security in the entire capital city improves and many Ugandan traders are continuing to return to the market after they fled during the 2013 fighting.

Challenges
Mr Mugagga says although they have secured some liberties within the market, there are areas they need to be helped by Ugandan government.
“The market is so big and we need to fence it off and also light it at night. We need to have solar lights and perimeter wall to prevent petty criminals, animals and anyone from accessing it through porous boundaries,” Mr Mugagga says.

In August last year, the main power generation source for the market was switched off by the police to allow investigations after a child climbed a pole and touched a live wire that electrocuted it. The market spent months without a main source of power. He says the market was constructed in a swampy area that is prone to flooding during the rainy season.
“If Uganda government can lend us a hand to have drainage channels and street lights, the market will be able to increase on the number of commodities exported to South Sudan. We carried out a study and gave it to the Ministry of Trade as they recommended. They haven’t got back to us,” he says.

Mr Mutebi says they need a bank where to deposit and withdraw their money.
“It is not easy to get dollars in South Sudan when you are not a local person. Traders get us dollars on black market at higher rate than in banks. Some traders send money to Uganda using bus companies whose workers sometimes disappear with the cash,” Mr Mutebi says.

With the signing of the peace deal between President Kiir and his former vice president Dr Machar, Ugandans expected that business will thrive again and the market will increase Uganda’s exports.