Over 40 vehicles seized as military police target illegal sirens, plates
Magezi said on Wednesday (September 16) that the operation will also target vehicles with covered number plates, some of which belong to members of the security forces and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Acting director of Defence Public Information, Col Chris Magezi. (File)
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More than 40 vehicles with illegal sirens and covered number plates have been impounded in a joint operation by the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) Military Police Brigade and the Uganda Police Force.
The vehicles were impounded during an operation staged at different roadblocks strategically placed on Entebbe Road, Kinawataka, Mukwano Road, Kumbuzi, Kanyanya on Gayaza Road and Bweyogerere along the Kampala-Jinja highway.
The operation follows the commencement of efforts within the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area and the country at large to impound numberless, unregistered or unlicensed motor vehicles.
Acting director of Defence Public Information, Col Chris Magezi, said on Wednesday (September 16) that the operation will also target vehicles with covered number plates, some of which belong to members of the security forces and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
“The drivers of such vehicles will be arrested and prosecuted in courts of law for gross violation of traffic regulations. Also to be arrested are members of the security services who fail to adhere to traffic regulations, including driving without valid driving permits and licenses,” Magezi said.
“The drivers or owners of the vehicles will be arrested and court-martialed in accordance with the UPDF Act 2025, as amended. This is therefore to notify the public about the ongoing operation and to appeal for their usual cooperation and support. The operation will proceed in earnest until further notice,” Magezi added.
Following the commencement of the operation, sanity had been restored on several roads within Greater Kampala.
Along the Kampala-Jinja highway, the military placed a roadblock at Bweyogerere in Kira Municipality, Wakiso district, to check errant drivers.
At Bweyogerere, several motorists who spoke to New Vision said the checkpoint had helped enforce traffic rules, improve road safety and stop the illegal use of sirens and lead cars by unauthorised motorists.
“Sometimes you are pushed away from the road by even a junior government or parastatal official with no right of way,” Jimmy Ssekasi, a taxi driver at Mukono stage, said.
Rashid Wafula, a daily commuter from Mukono to Kampala, said the Kampala-Jinja highway has so many people moving with sirens.
This will not be the first time the military has set up roadblocks in and around Kampala. In March this year, Military Police were deployed in the same spots shortly after the country held its general elections.
Many claimed the operations targeted opposition politicians, but the army denied that the checkpoints across the Kampala Metropolitan Area were aimed at apprehending opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, after residents reported soldiers stopping vehicles in several areas, including Gayaza.
The UPDF said the checkpoints were part of a joint operation by the Military Police Brigade and the Uganda Police Traffic Directorate launched the exercise to “enforce traffic regulations and restore order” on the capital’s roads.
“This is therefore to dismiss the insinuations from some quarters that the snap checkpoints mounted by the Military and Uganda Police traffic corps is an effort to apprehend NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, who is also National Unity Platform (NUP) party leader,” Magezi said in a statement.
“No one is looking for or interested in the NUP leader. The aim of the police forces is to restore discipline, total observance of traffic regulations, and curtail criminal activities by some motorists on the roads.”
Magezi said the operation targets motorists violating traffic laws, including those driving unregistered or numberless vehicles and individuals illegally using sirens.