Road closures leave city in tears

KAMPALA- The two-day blockade of Entebbe Road and other city roads due to the visiting South Korean leader Park Geun-Hye and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have left Kampala city and neighbouring Entebbe Town in heavy traffic snarl-ups with hundreds missing flights, and many others unable to get to their offices.

South Koeran leader arrived in the country last Saturday and left yesterday after a three-day State visit, while her Turkish counterpart jets in today, for a two-day state visit.

Uganda’s single highway to Entebbe International Airport was closed for most of the day on Sunday, causing a nightmare for motorists, taxi drivers, and airline passengers. According to the police, Entebbe Road will be closed again, as the Turkish president visits.

On Sunday, the police and military police mounted 10 roadblocks to divert traffic to and from Entebbe.

Pictures circulating on social media show passengers with luggage on boda-bodas as they rush to catch various flights.
Some were seen walking to the airport because at some sections, motorcycles and cars had been banned.

On May 26, the police had issued a statement indicating roads that would be closed and asked motorists heading to Entebbe International Airport to plan their journeys well in time to avoid inconveniences.

Passengers miss their flights
Ms Joyce Mcharo, the Kenya Airways country manager, told Daily Monitor they had to keep a flight waiting on Sunday.
“We can, however, only hold the flight for a short while because of the connections some other passengers would have to make in Nairobi,” she said.

Kenya Airways has five daily flights into Entebbe – the highest among airline operating through Entebbe International Airport.

“Unfortunately, some of the people missed their flights yesterday (Sunday). We could only wait for so long. At some point you have to shut the doors,” she added.

Any flight missed often results into a $50 (Shs170,000) fine if a passenger is to be booked on another flight. The cost is incurred by the passenger.

Entebbe, the only country’s only International Airport houses six major airlines daily including - Kenya Airways, Rwanda Air, Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines, Fast Jet and Fly Dubai, among others.

No airline recorded any flight cancellations on Sunday due to the road closures, but several reported cases of passengers missing their flights.

However, they did not give definite figures.
People who had gone to pick passengers returning from the airport also found trouble finding their way.

“I used the Mukwano road to Queensway but there was already too much traffic. So I turned and I went to Kibuli through Nsambya to Kibuye and that is where all my troubles started.

I asked the police officer where we are meant to pass, she just told me to go ahead to the Busabala road. No one seemed to know where we were going and I had no idea where the alternative routes were,” she told Daily Monitor.

Trouble for some of the motorists was the access roads provided as alternatives that were known to many with some getting lost whereas other got stuck in traffic build ups along the routes.

“It took me almost 5 hours to the reach airport. Honestly, if they are to provide alternative routes, let them be equally good,” Ms Nabirye said.

The alternative routes are mostly dirt roads, narrow and with several turns. The only other alternative is the Kampala - Entebbe Expressway, which is still under construction, with some sections in Kajjansi still incomplete.

The expressway completion is not expected at least until 2018.

Smooth drive
For VIPs travelling in convoy, it was smooth drive with cleared traffic. It would take one only 20 minutes for a VIP motorcade to drive from Entebbe to Kampala.
On averagely, it takes more than an hour to travel from Entebbe to Kampala.

Mr Rashid Ssenoga, a truck driver at the Abayita Ababiri stage said he could not make his two delivery two trips from which, “I earn about Shs100,000 per day”.

“In the last three days, I have made losses of about Shs300,000,” he said, reveals they had not been allowed to drive their trucks to Nakawuka, Wakiso District where the sand quarry is located.

At Abayita Ababiri, the market, according to, Ms Faridah Nambantya, could not receive fresh food supplies as much of the “food which comes from various places across the country,” had no access to the market.

The matooke we have is brought on trucks from Masaka Road but for three days the supplies have dropped,” she said.
Party goers, who could not negotiate their way to the various beaches in Entebbe, had to settle for a quite weekend or look for alternatives off Entebbe road.

“We still got clients but they were mostly complaining of hiked transport fares,” Mr Joseph Omona, the Sports Beach manger said.

Only paved road
Entebbe Road is the only paved highway connecting Kampala and the airport. Most of the roads are under Wakiso District are gravel or paved murrum.

However, Wakiso District chairman Lwanga Bwanika told Daily Monitor they have no funds to work on most of the alternative roads.

“We get only Shs1.4b for roads yet to construct a kilometre of tarmac road is Shs1b. If we are to work on tarmac roads, we shall cover only one kilometre,” he said.

Yesterday there was an early morning blockade that stretched from Nansana Roundabout to Natete roundabout on the northern bypass.

Traffic was diverted through Kabojja before connecting to Kyengera.

Traffic built-up along Ssentema, stretching as far as Lungujja from the Northern Bypass.

The traffic along roads connecting the Nothern Bypass was messy, according to Mr Siraj Kagimu, a taxi drive. “It doesn’t make business sense for me to drive for almost 2 hours between Busega and Bweyogere,” Mr Kagimu said.

Police defend blockade
The director of traffic, Dr Steven Kasiima, yesterday defended the road blockades, saying they didn’t want a repeat of past incidents where motorists have either joined dignitaries’ convoys or knocked them.

“During the former US president Bill Clinton visit in Uganda, a truck cut through his convoy. We have boda-boda cyclists who join convoys and even knock vehicles,” Dr Kasiima said.
Dr Kasiima cited another incident where a train cut through a convoy of the President at an access road near Mukwano Roundabout in Kampala City.

He said allowing motorists on the road and then give way when the dignitaries’ vehicles have arrived would not have been bad, but “many Ugandans would join convoys whenever they get a chance”.

“They at times overtake VIP convoy and sometimes cause accidents,” putting their lives in danger, he said.
Dr Kasiima said the security challenges have also increased and they can’t risk, especially with the lives of foreign dignitaries.

“We now have al Shabaab terrorists. They can do anything. You talk to people in Counter Terrorism. They will tell you that risks involved,” he said.

Asked where police delives the power to close roads to other users, Dr Kasiime said under Section 142(b) of the Traffic and Road Safety Act, they are empowered to close any road during an emergency or anticipation of any event.
While swearing in at the start of this month, police closed off Entebbe Road as 14 heads of state and other leaders arrived in the country ahead of the swearing in.
However, this now seems to have become a routine as roads have had to be closed off to hundreds of road users even without providing proper alternatives.

Reported by: Andrew Bagala, Paul Adude, Mark Keith Muhumuza and Risdel Kasasira