State House has dismissed claims that President Museveni’s convoy caused the traffic gridlock along Masaka Road on Monday and into Tuesday, attributing the chaos instead to motorists’ indiscipline and other contributing factors.
There was prolonged traffic congestion along the busy Kampala–Masaka Highway, particularly around the Mpigi area. The gridlock began at around 5pm on Monday and extended into Tuesday, leaving some motorists stranded for hours and others forced to spend the night on the road.
The situation sparked public anger, with several people, including National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, blaming the traffic chaos on President Museveni’s convoy.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, State House described the claims as false and misleading.
“While delays are regrettable, it is inaccurate and misleading to place responsibility on the President’s convoy. For clarity, very limited and time-bound road closures during presidential movements are standard operating procedures world over and are carefully coordinated to minimize disruption,” the statement read.
State House said several other factors significantly contributed to the congestion, including heavy end-of-month traffic as motorists returned from upcountry holidays, poor road discipline by drivers who failed to respect other road users and created multiple lanes, as well as a heavy downpour that reduced visibility and forced some motorists to temporarily stop.
According to State House, similar delays were experienced last year when there were no presidential campaigns, stressing that the President’s convoy should not be scapegoated for road indiscipline.
“It is therefore incorrect to politicize and wrongly attribute this unfortunate event. We encourage the public to consider the full context of such situations and to exercise patience and responsible road use, especially during periods of heavy traffic and adverse weather conditions,” the statement added.
Earlier, Police had said in a separate statement that the high volume of traffic, especially from Masaka side to Kampala compounded by indiscipline by motorists led to the gridlock.
“The situation was worsened by a crash involving a truck and a lorry at Lungala that temporarily cut off the road completely as well as a broken down trailer at Kamengo area,” traffic police said.
