Busia taxi drivers protest over continued lockdown

Busia, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Taxi drivers in Busia municipality have protested against the continued lockdown within the district.

The continued lockdown is one of the measures taken by government to reduce the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Busia is among the border districts still under lockdown.

The drivers on Friday stormed the office of the Resident District Commissioner -RDC with a petition arguing that the current lockdown has left them and their families to starve.

In their petition, the drivers alluded that they are facing a number of challenges which include failure to take care of their families due to food shortage, overwhelmed with bank loans and also that their vehicles are grounded at the parking yards and unknown people have started stealing spare parts from them.

They wondered why government has continued to lock them down even when the district has not registered any community infection. In the placards they were holding, the drivers demanded government to allow them operate like in other districts by observing standard operation procedures.

Iddi Mona, the chairman Busia District Taxi Drivers’ Cooperative Association says that government should relax on the lockdown for their business to resume because the situation has worsened in their homes.

He said that one of the Association members died a few days ago due to pressure mounted on him by his family demanding for food which he could not provide.

Muhammad Batambuze, a taxi driver wonders why they are still locked down yet there is no COVID-19 community case reported in Busia district.

Muhammad Assuman, another driver says that the ban on public transport is oppressing them because it’s the only source of income.

Sowed Maganda, says that they want the president to sympathize with them and relax taxi operations because they are suffering paying back loans that they acquired from money lenders.

Paul Kalikwan Mwidu, the Busia Deputy Resident District Commissioner confirmed receiving the petition and will forward it to the district taskforce committee both at district and national level for intervention. He appealed to the drivers to be calm as their issue is being handled.

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