The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has suspended offloading and loading of passengers at the Arua junction on the Kampala-Gulu highway saying this jeopardises the safety of people since the area is part of Murchison Falls National Park.

Following the ban on trailers, lorries, and buses from crossing Karuma Bridge due to structural defects, buses, especially from Gulu district, have been dropping off passengers at the Arua junction checkpoint who then travel on boda bodas to catch other buses of the same company on the other side in Karuma town.

James Peter Ewau, the warden in charge of Karuma Wildlife Reserve in Murchison Falls National Park directed that buses start parking at Nora trading centre, Juma parish, Kamdini sub-county in Oyam district on the same highway.

He emphasises that all the buses must stop at Nora to avoid littering and loitering in the park area.

Ewau said the Arua junction area is an elephant and buffalo corridor so there is a need for all drivers to park at Nora.

Ewau noted that the animals are dangerous and they can easily be attracted by the fruits being sold to travellers.

UWA suspended offloading and loading of passengers

Transport costs

Hundreds of passengers were stranded in Karuma town on Monday night as bus operators plying the Kampala-Gulu highway abandoned the alternative routes proposed for heavy-traffic diversion following the closure of Karuma Bridge.

They said the alternative Kafu-Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach road had introduced additional costs and has caused inconveniences to their passengers.

A driver who preferred anonymity told New Vision that he needs an additional 50 litres of fuel to drive on the alternative route, adding that the stretch from River Kafu to Gulu through Masindi to Pakwach is longer by about 100 kilometres.

 “I cover between three and four kilometres on a litre of diesel, depending on the load,” he said.

But our computation shows that if indeed the alternative route has come along with an additional distance of about 100 kilometres, this particular bus would top up 25 litres of fuel worth about sh124,000 to reach Gulu.

Accordingly, automobiles categorised as heavy-duty were asked to make better use of alternative routes as directed by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).

For instance, those plying the Kampala-Gulu or West Nile routes were diverted at River Kafu via Masindi town to Paraa and exited onto the Pakwach-Karuma thoroughfare at Tangi gate.

The alternative route for motorists from Lira heading to Kampala is Lira-Dokolo-Soroti-Kumi-Pallisa-Tirinyi-Nakalama through Iganga onwards to Kampala via Jinja or vice versa if from the capital Kampala.

The diversion of traffic between Gulu and Kampala through the Kafu Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach route would increase the distance by about 130 kilometres compared to the 335-kilometer drive between Kampala and Gulu.

With drivers estimating that a bus, the vehicle of choice for passengers on the route, covers six kilometres on a litre, it means the 85 kilometres would require 21 extra litres, or a spend of sh55,000 more to fill the tank for the journey.

However, those plying the Arua-Pakwach-Kampala route via Paraa and Masindi will sigh with relief after avoiding the longer and jagged Pakwach-Karuma stretch, potentially saving time and avoiding the wear and tear to the vehicles.

Karuma boda boda transporting passengers the to T-junction where buses make a stopover

There is, however, a catch. The road between Tangi and Kichumbanyobo, the northwestern and southern gates into the Paraa section of Murchison Falls National Park is about 45 kilometres, but a strictly enforced 40-kilometers-per-hour speed limit means the trip takes a minimum of two hours despite the road being newly paved. Violators are fined sh100,000 at either gate.

Aware of the additional costs and inconveniences of driving through the Gulu-Olwiyo-Pakwach-Kampala route via Paraa and Masindi, bus drivers decided to use the shorter, well-mastered route.

Passengers stranded

Operators from Kampala heading to Gulu now drive up to Karuma town. On arrival, they park at the deserted parking yard for trailers and lorries. At this point, passengers and luggage are offloaded before the operators hire or use their taxis to transport the passengers and luggage to the other side of the bridge onto the checkpoint at the Arua T-junction where passengers have to board other means to continue with their journey. 

On arrival at Kafu, police attempted to persuade Larem Safari, Mega Executive, and Makome, among other buses, to utilise the alternative route but in vain, according to their passengers.

“We ended up in Karuma town where other organised bus companies had to transport passengers and luggage to cross the bridge using small vehicles,” a man who only identified himself as a teacher told our reporter.

He said passengers who relied on service providers that did not provide small vehicles to ensure the continuation of their passengers on the Gulu side, were left stranded in Karuma town.

Women operating business at Karuma counting losses

Among them were 65 civil servants of Gulu district who had travelled to Kampala on Sunday night to take part in the verification exercise at the Ministry of Public Service.

“We left Kampala at around 3:00 pm on Monday and arrived in Karuma Town at 9:30 pm. The driver told us that he was not used to the alternative route and that it was already too late for him to drive on that longer route. We are now stranded here with our children,” a female passenger, also a staff of Gulu district told New Vision on Monday night.

New Vision has learnt that for buses heading to Kampala, loading is done from respective terminals in Gulu and passengers are delivered to the checkpoint at the Arua junction where they have to board light vehicles to cross the bridge onwards to Karuma and board buses to Kampala.