By KT Reporter
Road users in Rukiga District are protesting the deteriorating condition of several Ministry of Works and Transport roads in the area. The affected roads include the 61-kilometre Muhanga–Kisiizi–Kebisoni road connecting Rukiga and Rukungiri districts; the 38-kilometre Rutobo–Rwamatunguru–Kyogo road, which branches off the Kabale–Ntungamo–Mbarara highway at Rutobo in Muhanga Town Council to the Uganda–Rwanda border at Rwamatunguru before rejoining Muhanga via Kyogo; and the 21-kilometre Rushebeya–Murukiri–Butobere road linking Kabale and Rukiga districts.
Users say sections of these roads have become nearly impassable due to deep potholes. Michael Kwarikunda Mbareeba, a concerned road user from Rwamucucu Sub-county, said the roads are in a terrible state because of the potholes, which worsen whenever it rains as they fill with stagnant water. Kwarikunda blamed the Ministry of Works and Transport for failing to open drainage channels and for not taking prompt measures to rehabilitate the roads.
Rosemary Orikiriza, Brian Arinda, and Ashraf Kamukama, all from Kamwezi Sub-county, said the poor condition of the Rutobo–Rwamatunguru–Kyogo road has crippled business, especially the transportation of agricultural produce such as bananas to border markets.
Samuel Twongyeire, a resident of Kitanga in Kashambya Sub-county, and Emmanuel Mutambuka from Kihorezo in Nyakagabagaba Parish, Rwamucucu Sub-county, said they are angered that President Yoweri Museveni promised to tarmac the Muhanga–Kisiizi–Kebisoni and Rutobo–Rwamatunguru–Kyogo roads during his 2001 and 2016 campaigns, yet no progress has been made.
They also accused local leaders of failing to advocate for road rehabilitation, focusing instead on bribing voters during elections.
Engineer Alison Abenabo Twine, the Ministry of Works and Transport’s Kabale Station Manager, has called for patience, saying rehabilitation has begun on the most severely damaged sections of the Muhanga–Kisiizi–Kebisoni and Rutobo–Rwamatunguru–Kyogo roads.
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