Car bonds, bodabodas and street vendors invade Kampala walkways

KAMPALA - For over 10 years, Innocent Tumonyizanye, who hails from Kisoro district, has been hawking sugarcane between Nakawa and Kireka on the Kampala-Jinja highway. 

One of the toughest challenges he faces is finding his way to his customers who are bodaboda riders and car bond workers on Jinja Road. 

He keeps moving from one spot to another with his sugarcane on a wooden wheelbarrow and because of lack of space for pedestrians and cyclists on road shoulders, Tumonyizanye is forced to squeeze himself onto the highway, which exposes him to the risk of being knocked by speeding cars. 

“The road should be expanded. Many people die from here every day,” Tumonyizanye says, while pointing to the roadside that is fully occupied by cars on sale and bodaboda stages. 

As Tumonyizanye complains about space on the walkway, he does not know that by hawking sugarcane from there, he is breaking the law. 

Jane Kibirige, who usually walks from the city centre up to Mbuya in Kampala, says getting past Nakawa is a nightmare, as vendors display merchandise for sale in places where people are supposed to walk. 

In many places, especially under streetlights, vendors display their merchandise for sale, blocking pedestrians. 

“You reach home extremely tired, not because you have walked a long distance, but because you kept dodging people. I lived in the UK and walking was always enjoyable. Here, you reach home feeling dizzy,” she says. 

Accidents  

A study conducted by Friedrich-Elbert-Stiftung in 2021 revealed that 50% of workers in Kampala access the city by walking to and from home daily, yet their walkways are encroached on. 

To make matters worse, some drivers in Kampala do not observe the minimum speed limit in urban areas, which is about 30km. 

Stephen Ondwa, an employee of Semu Motors, a company that sells second hand vehicles on the Nakawa-Kyambogo stretch in Kampala, says people are always knocked dead by speeding cars. 

“Crossing is deadly. There is nothing between Lugogo Bypass and Kyambogo to help pedestrians use the road conveniently. The road is extremely narrow,” he says, adding that the road reserve is heavily encroached on.

Narrow roads  

Bodaboda riders that New Vision spoke to said the narrow roads sometimes force them to use the few available walkways, forcing off passengers. 

Alex Taban, a bodaboda cyclist, said it is hard to maintain road discipline in a city where every road is occupied by big trucks or kiosks.

KCCA law enforcement officers confiscating merchandise from street vendors illegally operating on walkways in downtown Kampala.

Corruption, blackmail  

Last year, security agencies launched investigations into allegations that officials of the defunct Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), were being bribed by car bond brokers on Jinja Road to turn a blind eye to their encroachments on road reserves. 

Sources at the car bonds said some UNRA officials asked for bribes of sh5m-sh100m in order to let the car bonds operate in the road reserves of the Kampala-Jinja highway. 

A source said last year, they were forced to give a UNRA official sh15m in order to prevent eviction. 

“He asked us to deliver the money at the Ndere Troupe Cultural Centre in Kisaasi. He later asked for sh5m to allow us remain around for five days. In October last year, another UNRA official asked the car bond owners to raise sh100m.” 

The source said the blackmail had become regular, until works minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala directed individuals who were illegally occupying road reserves to vacate. 

Richard Baguma, the treasurer of Road Safety Coalition Uganda, says all highways should have walkways on the road shoulders.

KCCA responds 

Daniel NuweAbine, the head of public and corporate affairs at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), says clearing the pedestrian walkways is already in the pipeline. 

“We had notified (car bond owners) to clear the roads,” he said. 

NuweAbine said all new roads being constructed have designated places for pedestrians. 
“We are going to continue apprehending all those who do wrong on the road, but we also have an overall plan to organise bodabodas in the city,” he said. 

The Government, according to NuweAbine, wants bodabodas to form a union, and once that happens, it will be easier to regulate them.

Safe walkways 

According to construction experts, a road designed for pedestrians should have dedicated, well-maintained sidewalks on both sides, clearly marked crosswalks at intersections, pedestrian-friendly traffic signals, raised crosswalks where necessary, and sufficient lighting to ensure visibility, especially at night, essentially prioritising pedestrian safety by separating them from vehicle traffic as much as possible. 

Traffic report  

According to the 2024 traffic report, road traffic crashes increased by 6.4%. A total of 25,107 crashes were recorded last year, up from 23,608 accidents in 2023. 

Among the reported crashes, 4,434 were fatal, meaning they resulted into deaths, while 13,134 were classified as serious, involving major injuries. 

Another 7,539 crashes were categorised as minor, causing no significant injuries. 
The number of people affected by road crashes also rose by 4.4%, with 25,808 casualties recorded last year, compared to 24,728 victims in 2023.

Minister warns 

Works state minister Musa Ecweru warned of an impending eviction of all structures in road reserves that are meant to be for pedestrians and other things. 

“That place was constructed deliberately for them; the car bonds must be where they are supposed to be,” he said. 

Although it is illegal to encroach on road reserves, contrary to the Road Safety Act that was passed by Parliament in 2019, the car dealers on the stretch say they usually bribe officials to get away with their activities. 

Under Section 65(1)[e] of the Act, anyone conducting business on the road reserve of a public road is committing an offense, punishable by a fine of up to 168 currency points, imprisonment for up to seven years, or both. Each currency point is sh20,000.