Uganda Police have intensified a nationwide road safety crackdown, impounding hundreds of public service vehicles and warning taxi operators that driving at night will no longer provide a shield against enforcement.
The Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety says 499 public service vehicles (PSVs) have been impounded in the first 27 days of Operation Ganyegenya, an operation targeting taxis and other passenger vehicles operating in dangerous mechanical conditions.
The latest figures paint a troubling picture of mechanical compliance.
Of the 369 vehicles already inspected, only 42 — 11.1 per cent — passed, while 328 vehicles, representing 88.9 per cent, failed the inspection.
Police said 130 vehicles were impounded in the past week alone, signalling an escalation in enforcement against operators whose vehicles are considered unsafe for public transport.
Some of the impounded vehicles have since been inspected and, where necessary, deregistered and released to their owners for repairs, while others remain awaiting inspection.
Nighttime taxi crackdown
Police have now expanded the operation into the night after receiving reports that some taxi operators were deliberately shifting operations to nighttime hours to evade enforcement teams.
The Directorate of Traffic warned that the strategy will not work.
“Driving at night will not provide an escape from the operation,” police said, urging taxi operators to voluntarily take their vehicles for inspection before they are impounded.
The force reminded operators that the 100-day period currently being provided is a grace period, intended to give them time to repair vehicles and bring them into proper mechanical condition.
Once the period expires, police said enforcement will be intensified, with offenders arrested and taken to court.
Re-inspection exposes further failures
Even among vehicles returning for re-inspection, compliance remains incomplete.
Police said 65 vehicles have so far undergone re-inspection, with 39 vehicles, or 60 per cent, passing, while 26, or 40 per cent, failed again.
The figures have raised further concern over the mechanical condition of vehicles being used to transport passengers across Uganda.
Sinotruks, heavy trucks also in the crosshairs
Police and the Ministry of Works and Transport are simultaneously running Operation Babala Salama, targeting licensing and compliance among public service vehicles as well as Sinotruks and other related heavy trucks.
Operators in the affected heavy-truck category have been given a 60-day voluntary inspection window.
However, police made it clear that the grace period does not protect vehicles that officers identify on the road as being in a dangerous mechanical condition.
So far, only 148 vehicles have been inspected under the operation.
Of these, 107 passed, while 41 failed and were deregistered.
Police are now urging Sinotruk and other heavy-truck operators to take advantage of the inspection window before enforcement becomes mandatory.
70 vehicles seized over illegal sirens, number plates
Another operation, Operation Tekeleza Sheria, is targeting what police describe as illegal vehicle modifications and traffic violations involving motorists and security personnel.
The joint operation between the Uganda Police Force and the UPDF Military Police Brigade is targeting vehicles fitted with illegal sirens, swivelling or flashing lights, vehicles operating without number plates and those with concealed number plates.
Security personnel who fail to comply with traffic regulations are also being targeted.
Since the operation began, 70 vehicles have been impounded.
Police said seven drivers have so far appeared in court. Six were convicted, while one was remanded, with the remaining case files before Regional State Attorneys for sanctioning.
School buses face fresh safety scrutiny
Police have also issued a warning to school bus operators as schools resume operations, insisting that vehicles transporting children must meet mandatory safety requirements.
All school buses must have valid inspection reports, while drivers must obtain the required school bus driver badges.
Police said vehicles found to be mechanically unsafe may be prevented from continuing to transport children.
The Directorate urged school transport operators to voluntarily present their vehicles for inspection instead of waiting to be intercepted on the road.
The latest crackdown comes amid persistent concerns over road safety and the condition of vehicles operating on Uganda’s roads.
Police said the three operations will continue until there is greater compliance, discipline and safety among road users.
The message to operators is increasingly blunt: repair the vehicle, obtain the required documentation and comply with traffic laws — or face the consequences.
SP Kananura Michael, PRO/CLO of the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, urged motorists and operators to take responsibility for road safety before enforcement catches up with them.
