By Fidel Boy Leon
As Uganda moves into a heated election season, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has issued strict new guidelines aimed at regulating the display of election campaign materials across the capital.
While politicians prepare their messages and rallies, KCCA clarifies that campaigning must respect public space, order, and urban aesthetics.
Here’s a breakdown of how the Authority plans to keep Kampala clean, safe, and orderly during the campaign season, and what candidates and voters need to know.
The 2025 election cycle is already showing signs of the usual poster flood: walls plastered, trees defaced, banners strung across roads, and fliers scattered like confetti. KCCA has long struggled with post-election litter, damaged infrastructure, and visual pollution. This year, it’s taking preemptive action.
According to the Physical Planning Act, any poster or banner is legally defined as an advertisement and therefore falls under the jurisdiction of KCCA’s regulatory powers.
“If not regulated, campaign poster displays can be disorderly and negatively impact the aesthetics of the City,” the Authority noted.
These guidelines are firmly anchored in law, drawing authority from a suite of legal frameworks, including the Kampala Capital City Act (Cap. 195), the Physical Planning Act (Cap. 142), the National Environment Act (Cap. 181), the new Kampala Capital City (Outdoor Advertising) Ordinance, 2025, and the Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 177).
Together, these instruments give KCCA wide-ranging powers to regulate political advertising, preserve public order, and prosecute violators.
The guidelines dictate that all political campaign materials, whether posters, banners, billboards, street pole ads, or sound trucks, must be approved through a KCCA permit before display.
Posters may only be placed on the front elevation of buildings, at ground or just-above-ground level, and must be uniform. Posting on private property requires written consent from the owner. Campaign materials are strictly prohibited in schools, hospitals, places of worship, on trees, or on utility poles.
High-risk areas like road reserves, junctions, traffic lights, and traffic islands are completely off-limits. Any placement that obstructs visibility or poses a safety risk is banned.
Sound announcements are restricted to the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., must not exceed 80 decibels in volume, and require a separate outdoor advertising permit.
Candidates or political parties that receive permits are also responsible for removing all campaign materials after the election period. Failure to do so will result in KCCA stepping in and billing the responsible party for cleanup.
The core motivation behind the rules is maintaining Kampala’s aesthetic and environmental integrity.
“Key consideration shall be given to the City’s aesthetic. “Election campaign tools will not be allowed where they negatively affect the attractiveness of an area,” KCCA emphasised.
The Authority discourages fliers, loose-leaf materials, and any form of campaign litter. Illuminated signs are banned unless they are placed on pre-approved, existing billboards to prevent urban clutter.
KCCA has also reminded candidates that removing or defacing a rival’s poster is illegal. Offenders will be prosecuted under Section 101 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, which could carry a fine, jail time, or both.
Displaying campaign materials without KCCA approval carries serious legal consequences. Such actions are classified as illegal development under the Physical Planning Act and treated as littering under the National Environment Act.
If the materials obstruct traffic or create a public disturbance, they also constitute an offence under the KCCA Maintenance of Law-and-Order Ordinance (2006). Offenders may face penalties ranging from fines and removal costs to imprisonment, depending on the severity and extent of the violation.
Campaign seasons in Uganda have long been marked by a lack of regulation, with every available surface turned into political real estate.
KCCA’s new enforcement-driven approach is not about stifling free speech, but about protecting public order, infrastructure, and the environment.
Candidates must now treat the city’s landscape with the same respect they expect for their ideas.
After all, leadership begins with responsibility, and if you can’t manage a poster, can you manage a city?