By KT Reporter
Fifteen hours on the road over a 50km stretch is something no one prepared for, traveling between Kampala and Masaka cities.
Stuck on the same spot for more than 12 hours, with most travelers unaware of what was happening, they received the first official but brief police statement at 7.00 o’clock in the morning of Tuesday.
It started around midday on Monday when traffic police and soldiers were holding vehicles for unusually long periods, for traffic leaving Kampala via the Northern Bypass and the Nateete section of Masaka road to join Masaka Highway.
It was one of the days expected to be relatively smooth for travelers as it was expected that many city dwellers and commuters were still on the season’s holiday.
But what started at a surprise sporadic hold-ups, turned into what would be an overnight nightmare.
The police were advising that motorists heading to Kampala had been diverted to use the Kasanje–Nakawuka route, while those traveling to Masaka were advised to use the Gomba–Sembabule route.
”All motorists are urged to comply with officers’ directives to ensure smooth traffic flow and road safety.”
At 9.00 the Ministry of Works and Transport added that alternatively, from Mpigi, one could divert to Kasanje and use the Ferry at Nakiwogo to Entebbe and/or Kampala.
”Traffic Police is on ground with added deployment to ensure steady flow. We deeply regret the delays caused and urge motorists to keep in the lane to avoid further disruption!” the police advisory said.
The travel chaos was made worse by the heavy downpour in the evening, that flooded the few alternative roads, some of which are not paved.
Motorists diverted to the Mpigi-Kasanje-Nakawuka road ran into further problem due to the condition of the road worsened by the heavy rains.
”We are so disappointed. After spending 13 hours in Mpigi, excited to hit the Mpigi-Kasanje-Nakawuka only to find it impassable, too degraded and impassable; even a routine maintenance can’t be done?!” lamented one motorist, Henry Lubanga.
While there was no official explanation of what caused the unusual situation, it later was attributed to the campaign activities of president Yoweri Museveni who addressed rallies in Gomba and Mpigi district. On his way out, he made stopovers along the road to talk to residents, causing a holdup of traffic in either direction.
After the stop, there was uncontrolled movement of traffic as each motorist rushed to continue with their journeys, causing the hitch before it was made worse by the downpour.
Another motorist heading to Masaka said, “The Gomba-sembabule road is in ruins already, completely destroyed by heavy trafic, very soon it will be impassable and it is not expected to be worked on soon.”
Michael Agaba, another traveler remarked: “I’ve been here since 10PM. It’s now 8:45AM! What occasioned the diverting of the route? It can’t be the President because he left yesterday but 24 hours later we are still stuck!”
The situation also prompted new questions regarding the stalled Busega-Mpigi expressway project, which would have helped, had it been usable by now.
The project also interfered with the existing roads and resulted into many diversions.
Kampala-Masaka highway is part of the Northern Corridor of East Africa, now only connecting Kampala to Western Uganda.
It runs from Mombasa Port through Nairobi to the border with Uganda, on to Kampala and Masaka, before continuing to Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC.
The traffic situation is expected have affected not only Ugandans traveling between different towns, but also tourists who frequently move between Kampala and attractions in the Rwenzori, SouthWestern Uganda and Rwanda.
Others affected were traders, the heavy trucks that move from as far as Mombasa through Uganda to Rwanda, Burundi and DRC.
”I imagine there are tourists who went gorilla trekking, hoped to be flying out last night to catch whatever important appointments they had but are still stuck somewhere in Mpigi!” wondered social media activist and lawyer, Godwin Toko.
“Now they have to cancel flights, pay a fine, miss the appointment; yep, someone wanted a “brief chat” on the road!”
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