Works and Transport Minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, has revealed that the use of the Kampala flyover is strictly prohibited for pedestrians, boda bodas, and vehicles weighing above 7.5 tons.

Katumba emphasized that there are no provisions for these entities on the flyover or the tunnel leading to Arena Mall towards Nsambya. He strongly advised pedestrians to utilize the designated crossing points and warned that anyone who gets involved in an accident outside these areas will not receive any compensation.

Katumba also urged Ugandans to report officials who misuse government vehicles by taking pictures and uploading them to social media so that they can be apprehended. He also ordered Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to enforce the Road Safety (Amendment) Act 2019 which prohibits business activities in road reserves and on the roadsides.

He said this conflicts with the traffic flow and denies pedestrians freedom to use the road. According to the Road Safety Act, a person who carries out business on the shoulders of the road or in a road reserve commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 168 currency points. Each currency point is  Shs 20,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 7 years or both.

In 2022, KCCA introduced the Smart City campaign, which saw several street vendors and traders evicted from the city centre and in different divisions. However, the vendors have since returned to the streets and transacting business despite KCCA’s efforts to evict them.

Deputy KCCA executive director said that they don’t have demarcated road reserves and with the benefit of the minister’s orders KCCA will stop people from operating from frontages of the land between the building and the street.

He added that KCCA will go ahead and implement the post-NAM plan, which the authority has come up with to see that the city is decongested. He added that enforcement and supervision are going to be regular.

John Bosco Ssejjemba, director of road infrastructure from the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) noted that they will pick from the NAM activities to clear the road reserves in collaboration with KCCA.