97% of inspected taxis declared dangerous
Kananura said 97% of the 106 taxis inspected so far were found with defects serious enough to warrant their classification as DMCs.
Michael Kananura, the Uganda Police spokesperson for the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety. (Credit: Mpalanyi Ssentongo)
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Nearly all taxis inspected under the ongoing Operation Ganyegenya in the Kampala Metropolitan Area have been declared to be in dangerous mechanical condition (DMC), raising fresh concerns about passenger safety.
Michael Kananura, the Uganda Police spokesperson for the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, said 97% of the 106 taxis inspected so far were found with defects serious enough to warrant their classification as DMCs.
Only 3% of the inspected taxis had minor defects, he said.
Kananura said the inspection had uncovered between seven and 46 defects on individual vehicles, with some taxis having more than 40 mechanical and safety deficiencies.
“These vehicles were found with defects that ranged between seven and 46. The majority of the vehicles had very many defects — 30, 36, 25, 40 and 46,” he said.
The defects included cracked windscreens, defective service brakes, damaged bodywork, missing or defective seat belts, lack of first-aid kits and fire extinguishers, defective warning triangles and faulty passenger door locks.
Kananura said 178 public service vehicles (PSVs) were impounded on the first day of the 100-day operation, which started on August 24.
KMP South recorded 62 impounded vehicles, followed by KMP North with 63 and KMP East with 53.
Of the vehicles inspected so far, 84 have been handed back to their owners for repairs and rectification of the identified defects, while 22 have been inspected but are yet to be collected.
Another 72 taxis are awaiting inspection.
Kananura said vehicles returned to their owners for repairs will have to undergo the required automated inspection before they can be cleared for re-registration.
“Any operator found putting a deregistered vehicle back on the road carrying passengers will face stronger enforcement consequences,” he said.
Kananura said the operation, jointly conducted by police and the Ministry of Works and Transport, will continue throughout the 100-day period, combining enforcement, inspection and compliance measures to improve road safety in the capital.
According to the 2025 Annual Crime and Traffic Safety Report, officially released by Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba on March 30, 2026, road accidents increased by 3.7%.
The report classified 4,602 accidents as fatal and 13,563 as serious, marking a period of heightened risk for all road users.
The human toll has been particularly severe. Total annual deaths have risen by 4.7% to 5,383 lives lost over the past five years, equating to an average of 15 fatalities every day. Meanwhile, the number of people sustaining serious injuries rose by 8.4% to 18,444.
The data also identified specific "danger zones". The window between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM remains the deadliest time to be on the road, and weekends are the most hazardous period, with Fridays recording the highest volume of crashes at nearly 4,000 incidents.
Pedestrians and motorcyclists continue to be the most vulnerable groups, with motorcycles involved in over 15,000 crashes throughout the year. Regionally, the Albertine North, Rwenzori West and Masaka West areas recorded the highest severity rates, indicating that road safety remains a significant challenge outside the capital.