Jinja residents demonstrate over dusty road

By Donald Kiirya

Anti-riot police Wednesday spent hours at Mafubira trading centre, Jinja district, battling enraged residents, who went on rampage over an impassable pot-holed and dusty road.

The Police led by the Jinja district Police commander, Jonathan Musinguzi and South Eastern region Police Commander, Ben Mubangizi, came face-to-face with angry residents armed with hoes, machetes, sticks and knives as they planted banana stems in the Jinja-Kamuli highway.

The residents claim that the road is full of pot holes and dust which has prompted most of their businesses to close down.

Rioters block the way. Photo by Donald Kiirya

The Jinja-Kamuli highway is currently under construction by Dot Services Limited, a construction company which was contracted by government to rehabilitate it.

Residents also accused the contractor of laziness in rehabilitating the road.  

The protest started in the morning as residents barricaded the Jinja-Kamuli road and blocked traffic. Vehicles had to use other routes to reach Jinja as those heading to Kamuli had to use the Jinja-Budondo-Mbulamuti route.

They burnt tyres, bushes, and ferried stones which they poured in the middle of the road from Mafubira to Buwenge trading centre making it impassable.

They burnt tyres at Mafubira, Wakitaka, Namulesa, Nakabango, Mutai, Muguluka, Kagoma and Buwenge.

Rioters burning tyres in the middle of the road. Photo by Donald Kiirya

They were intercepting whichever vehicle and boda-bodas that were using the road and forcefully asked for money.  

At Namulesa, Busoga diocesan Bishop, Michael Kyomya had to disembark his official car registration number UAL 469J and walked tactfully through the angry residents and kept on waving to them while saying ‘Peace be with you all.’

He was surrounded but as residents kept on shouting at him and begging him to express their concerns to the right authority.

At Mafubira, residents stoned a land cruiser vehicle registration number UAB 628M and shattered all its windscreens. The owner abandoned it and fled for dear life.
 

Demostrators throwing stones at Policemen. Photo by Donald Kiirya

As Police fired teargas, residents kept on pelting stones towards it and threw the teargas canisters back to Police.

Efforts of Musinguzi and Mubangizi to address the rioting residents were fruitless as they (residents) went ahead with pelting stones at them.

The police intercepted the irate residents, who had already planted suckers on the road.

After a six hour battle with Police, Military Police was called in and caned residents, those arrested were told to remove all sorts of barricades in the road.

The residents also demanded for an explanation from their leaders who include the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, Ministers Asuman Kiyingi, Daudi Migereko and Members of Parliament, over the impassable state of the road.

They said their vehicles had on many occasions broke down due to the bad road adding that some of their businesses had closed due to dust.

Jinja DPC, Musinguzi said they had to quell the rioting residents to deter them from destroying property in trading centres located along the Jinja-Kamuli highway.