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Kampala, Uganda | URN | Commuter taxis in dangerous mechanical condition returned to Kampala roads late in the evening, after largely avoiding a daytime police operation targeting vehicles unfit for the road.
Most drivers of the old and worn-out taxis, locally known as Gganyegenya, stayed off the main routes during the day.
They left their vehicles in parking lots to evade the heavy presence of traffic police enforcing the crackdown on vehicles with serious defects.
The operation, directed by Transport Minister Fred Byamukama and carried out by the Directorate of Traffic Police, focused mainly on major roads within the Kampala Metropolitan Area.
Some drivers used little-known shortcut routes to ferry passengers while police concentrated on the primary roads.
Others remained at home but stayed in touch with colleagues for updates on the operation’s progress.
By around 3:00pm on Monday, the crackdown had lost momentum.The traffic police who had been deployed early in the morning began to wind down after a long day.
Drivers then moved to stages to assess the situation.
By 8pm, city roads were once again filled with the same prohibited taxis, many in worse condition than those impounded earlier.
Conductors loaded passengers openly with little fear after noticing the reduced police presence.
A few officers were seen directing traffic but appeared not to focus on the mechanical state of the vehicles.
At Kalerwe stage, taxi driver Dan Ngabonziza was loading passengers bound for Nansana in Wakiso.
He said he only began working around 7pm after keeping his vehicle parked all day.
“We were moving on boda bodas to bypass the checkpoints and observe the general situation. We saw that the traffic police were off by 6pm,” Ngabonziza said.
He explained that most of the vehicles are acquired on loans, making it difficult to leave them parked for days.
“We have suffered so much today. Some of the issues the traffic police are talking about are very hard to avoid. They can impound you because of a small damaged indicator. In some places police were even arresting our colleagues. Some people were driving through shortcuts, but police were also catching them there,”Ngabonziza stated.
Ngabonziza noted that some owners with means took their vehicles to garages for repairs, but many had no choice but to return to the roads in the evening.
“It’s hard to stay home when transportation is your only source of income. You also have a family to take care of,” he said.
He appealed to the government to reconsider the drive against old taxis, warning that it risks leaving families without income.
Similar scenes played out at Bwaise roundabout, where old taxis loaded passengers heading to Busega, Kawempe and other destinations. One traffic officer controlled the heavy flow of vehicles but did not stop conductors loading a short distance away.
At Rubigi checkpoint around 9pm, three traffic officers stood chatting by the roadside as taxis bound for Kakiri, Nabweru, Katooke and Gganda competed for passengers.
Traffic Police Spokesperson Michael Kananura said officers cannot be everywhere and called on the public to act as additional eyes.
“When you see a vehicle that is in a terrible situation, you can tell and call the police lines for help. The police is trying to impound those vehicles, but we need you people to please report and don’t accept being transported in these vehicles it’s your life we’re trying to save.”Kananura said.
Police said that most of the impounded vehicles on Monday had serious defects in braking systems, steering systems, tyres, doors, seats and body structures.
” Today we have encountered vehicles where doors are held together by ropes, vehicles with severely worn tyres, damaged seats and other defects that compromise the safety of passengers, we have hope that after 100 days these vehicles will no longer be on streets risking people’s lives. ” Kananura added.
The operation began on Monday within the Kampala Metropolitan Area and is not a one-day exercise. Ministry of transport says that about 60% of 250 targeted vehicles inspected in the past two weeks failed safety standards required on roads.
