Soldiers spoiling taxi work â€" UTODA
Mar 17, 2006
The involvement of soldiers in taxi business has made drivers defiant to the established rules and regulations, leading to violent acts, an official from the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers’ Association (UTODA) has said.
By Abubaker Mukose in Iganga
The involvement of soldiers in taxi business has made drivers defiant to the established rules and regulations, leading to violent acts, an official from the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers’ Association (UTODA) has said.
“We have established that vehicles whose owners are linked to security organs, especially the military, do not obey the rules governing the taxi business. They feel they are on top of everyone and above the law,†Hajji Mutwalibi Kakerewe, the UTODA Iganga chairman, said yesterday.
Kakerewe said most taxis damaged in Iganga on Monday prior to the riot in Jinja on Tuesday were linked to security operatives.
“We have set up rules that prohibit boarding and disembarking of passengers outside gazetted areas. But because these drivers claim to be employed by security operatives, they ignore the rules,†he said.
He cited a recent incident where personnel from the Violent Crime Crack Unit arrested and tortured the UTODA surveillance team.
“It was after the intervention of the regional Police commander (Jerome Baryayanga) that these boys were released,†Kakerewe said.
He also cited taxi UAG 119F that was being claimed by armed men on Wednesday after it was impounded over ferrying drivers who damaged 18 vehicles in the riot.
But Iganga Police commander Charles Katungi said, “I do not buy the argument that the army was at the centre of the taxi riots, although I can’t rule out the common abuse by drivers who link ownership of their vehicles to security people.â€
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The involvement of soldiers in taxi business has made drivers defiant to the established rules and regulations, leading to violent acts, an official from the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers’ Association (UTODA) has said.
“We have established that vehicles whose owners are linked to security organs, especially the military, do not obey the rules governing the taxi business. They feel they are on top of everyone and above the law,†Hajji Mutwalibi Kakerewe, the UTODA Iganga chairman, said yesterday.
Kakerewe said most taxis damaged in Iganga on Monday prior to the riot in Jinja on Tuesday were linked to security operatives.
“We have set up rules that prohibit boarding and disembarking of passengers outside gazetted areas. But because these drivers claim to be employed by security operatives, they ignore the rules,†he said.
He cited a recent incident where personnel from the Violent Crime Crack Unit arrested and tortured the UTODA surveillance team.
“It was after the intervention of the regional Police commander (Jerome Baryayanga) that these boys were released,†Kakerewe said.
He also cited taxi UAG 119F that was being claimed by armed men on Wednesday after it was impounded over ferrying drivers who damaged 18 vehicles in the riot.
But Iganga Police commander Charles Katungi said, “I do not buy the argument that the army was at the centre of the taxi riots, although I can’t rule out the common abuse by drivers who link ownership of their vehicles to security people.â€
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