ACCIDENTS: Pressure mounts for Uganda to roll out road camera system

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandans are cautiously welcoming the return of a smart road enforcement initiative that will be reintroduced on a pilot basis in high-risk locations before a phased national rollout begins in 2026. This all as pressure mounts to curb persistent road carnage.

The Electronic Penalty System (EPS) had earlier been suspended following widespread concern over high fines and limited public sensitisation, but a growing number of citizens now say the cost of inaction is proving far greater than the cost of reform.

That sentiment has been reinforced by the recent death of Niwagaba and his entire family, who perished in a horrific road crash on December 27 along the Kampala–Mbarara Highway. The family was travelling from Kampala to Mbarara when their Toyota Fielder collided head-on with a Fuso Fighter truck, killing all occupants on the spot.

During the church service held in their memory, mourners struggled to make sense of how an entire family could be wiped out in a single moment. For many, the tragedy crystallised a painful but urgent conclusion: Uganda can no longer rely on warnings and appeals alone to discipline dangerous driving.

As the Ministry of Works and Transport prepares to reimplement the traffic monitoring programme, street interviews in Kampala suggest growing public support for smart enforcement — particularly when deployed first in the most hazardous corridors.

The Ministry has indicated that the revised system will monitor speed, traffic-light compliance, and lane discipline, with data feeding into EPS. Penalty levels will be reviewed, and nationwide sensitisation campaigns will accompany the technology.

“If used properly, cameras will help us,” said Clinton Tumanye, a taxi driver in downtown Kampala. “When someone is reckless or causes harm, footage will show what happened. This system should protect people, not just punish them.”

The renewed push follows a series of deadly crashes that have shocked the country, including a 46-person bus accident on the Kampala–Gulu Highway, a collision in Bweyogerere that killed three people including two university students, and now the Niwagaba family tragedy.

Together, these incidents have reignited public concern over speeding, dangerous overtaking, fatigue, and the near-absence of consistent enforcement, particularly on long-distance highways and at night.

“The message from these tragedies is the same,” said Babirye Roseline, a pedestrian and working mother. “We need smart enforcement in the most dangerous places first. Drivers will only change when they know someone is watching all the time.”

She added that technology should focus on repeat offenders, drunk driving, and high-speed zones near schools, trading centres, and highway junctions.

According to ministry officials, EPS will be reintroduced through targeted pilot zones in Kampala and on selected highways known for high fatality rates, before expansion to other regions in early 2026.

Officials say the pilot phase will allow government to fine-tune penalty levels, test public response, and ensure fairness before nationwide scaling.

The revised system will combine reduced fines, public education, improved signage, and physical road safety upgrades, alongside digital enforcement.

“The public wants safety, not just surveillance,” said a senior transport official who requested anonymity. “The pilot approach allows us to prove that technology can save lives, not just issue tickets.”

Globally, smart enforcement systems have played a central role in reducing road deaths:

•Helsinki, Finland, recorded zero road fatalities in 2025 after combining lower speed limits, automated enforcement, and safer street design.

•Sweden cut road deaths by more than half under its Vision Zero policy, blending engineering, regulation, and digital monitoring.

•Singapore, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates have similarly deployed camera-based enforcement with measurable safety gains.

Uganda, where road crashes claimed 4,434 lives and injured more than 25,800 people in 2024, is now under growing pressure to act decisively as it modernises traffic policing.

Public Expectations High

On Kampala’s streets, the mood has shifted from resistance to cautious acceptance.

While concerns about privacy, fairness, and cost remain, many now see smart monitoring — especially when deployed first in accident-prone areas — as unavoidable.

“If cameras had disciplined speeding and overtaking on those highways, maybe that family would still be alive,” Roseline said. “We just want roads where rules apply to everyone, all the time.”

As Uganda prepares to relaunch EPS, the success of the system may ultimately be judged not by the number of fines issued, but by whether tragedies like the Niwagaba family crash become rarer — rather than routine.