A man runs past a fire lit at Burton Street near the Old Taxi Park during the riot

By Vision Reporters

HUNDREDS of passengers were left stranded in Kampala yesterday as drivers protested what they described as “harsh treatment” by the traffic Police.

For two weeks now, the Police have been cracking down on motorcycles and vehicles in poor mechanical conditions, drivers without permits and vehicles that have evaded taxes, as a means of curbing the increased road carnage in the country.

The drivers complained that Police impound their vehicles on flimsy grounds and that the penalties are too heavy.

Among the suspects were three men accused of masterminding the chaos. The Police nabbed them in Bweyogerere, another suburb.

The riots, which left hundreds of public transport users stranded in the city, were sparked off by the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) committee. They mobilised members to strike against what they called harassment by traffic police.

For two weeks, the Police have been cracking down on vehicles in poor mechanical condition, drivers without permits and vehicles whose owners have evaded taxes, as a means to curb road carnage.

The operations kicked off on March 31.
The taxi drivers complained that Police impound their vehicles on flimsy grounds and that the penalties are too heavy.
Kampala Extra police spokesperson, Simeo Nsubuga yesterday disclosed that 43 of the suspects were detained at the Central Police Station in Kampala.

“They are undergoing interrogation and screening,” Nsubuga told Saturday Vision, moments after the mid-morning demonstration that paralysed several parts of Kampala.

According to Nsubuga, the detainees are suspected of theft, malicious damage to property, simple robbery and involvement in a strike.

The Police also accused them of obstructing security officials, threatening violence and setting up illegal roadblocks in the city and its suburbs. They were picked from the city centre, Bakuli, Mengo, Nakulabye and other suburbs.
Nsubuga was optimistic that the suspects would appear in court on Monday. He said the riot, which kicked at the New Taxi Park, spread to other parts of the city.

“Bonfires were lit on several the roads in the suburbs,” he stated and cited Bwaise and Nateete as the affected suburbs. Nsubuga said a few shops on Namirembe Road were broken into. He insisted that there were no fatalities.

The Police identified three people, who were injured in the epicentre of the chaos at the Old Taxi Park as Godfrey Gunira, 40, Johnson Mbeta, 33 and Kangude, a student of Masooli secondary School, who was attacked by goons in Mengo, a city suburb. They were rushed to Mulago hospital for treatment. “Lawlessness will not be accepted in the city,” Nsubuga said.

Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba asked motorists to point out police officers who harass or intimidate them. “We are going to continue enforcing the law,” she stressed, adding, “the city is safe and secure.”

Passengers were the worst hit by the chaos that lasted over four hours. Even when calm returned, commuter drivers refused to operate, forcing hundreds of people to walk homes. Lines of pedestrians formed along Jinja, Entebbe and Bombo roads.

The strike was a blessing for boda boda operators, who ferried people with in the city and to the suburbs. But one had to fork out between sh2,000 and sh10,000 to get the nearest destination. By press time, the UTODA executive was buried in an emergency meeting.