Security to arrest drivers with vehicles in dangerous mechanical condition

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | With only four days left to the lifting of the ban on the movement of private cars, the Joint Security Taskforce has warned drivers against bringing back vehicles that are in dangerous mechanical condition.

Speaking today at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, Frank Baine, the spokesperson of the Uganda Prisons Service who represented the police and the UPDF said they had resolved not to allow any car that is not only dangerous to the owner but also other road users.

Biane also appealed to the drivers to be cautious while on the road because there will be many pedestrians using it because of absence of public transport. He said in the two months that the country has spent in a coronavirus lockdown, there has been a drastic drop in road accidents.

“Please don’t drive with excitement and then cause accidents because anybody who will be caught driving recklessly will be arrested. Be calm and modest as you get back on the road,” said Baine.

Meanwhile, Baine said that they have received reports of increased breaking-ins in homes by thugs in different parts of the country. He called upon the people to be vigilant and report all suspected criminals in their localities.

For his part, Jacob Siminyu, the spokesperson of the ministry of Internal Affairs said they are working tirelessly to see that they reduce on the traffic at the borders.

Yesterday, Members of the East African legislative Assembly who toured Uganda’s border with Kenya at Busia and Malaba and with South Sudan at Elegu reported traffic jam snaking up to 30 kilometers. Drivers are required to first test negative of the coronavirus before they are allowed entry into Uganda. In the recent past, truck drivers from the region had become the epicenter of Uganda’s cases.

On Thursday, May 21st there was a strike by truck drivers at both Elegu on the South Sudanese border and Busia on the Kenyan border with drivers contesting the delay in clearing them to travel. They said that some had spent over five days before they could be cleared. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde is to tour the three borders in Busia, Malaba and Elegu to assess the situation this weekend.

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