The speaker of parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has moved to task government on why presently there are many cars with a ‘right of way.’ Most Ugandans are quite familiar with this scene on most of Uganda’s narrow ,and some of them , bumpy roads in the country. Amid the confusion of Taxis, Boda bodas, ‘lousy’ drivers […]
The speaker of parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has moved to task government on why presently there are many cars with a ‘right of way.’
Most Ugandans are quite familiar with this scene on most of Uganda’s narrow ,and some of them , bumpy roads in the country.
Amid the confusion of Taxis, Boda bodas, ‘lousy’ drivers , private cars and pedestrians with no walk ways struggle to make way for the VIPs, for Many road users , often tired after a day of hustling or stuck in jam some of them rushing to drop or pick their kids from school on time, the sirens of these cars is eye deafening.
On top of that, these vehicles are driven menacingly, sometimes on pavements and on the wrong side of the one-way drives. Most times the VIPs’ gun-welding escorts literally shunt other people off the road, in this arrogant way of like ‘Are You Deaf…? Move Bitch!’
You most often hear the irritated road users murmuring all sorts of abuses
Now, Kadaga asked Internal Affairs Minister Gen. Jeje Odongo during today afternoon’s (28th February 2019) parliamentary seating that “Who is entitled to lead cars?” , before she revealed her experience saying, “This needs to be addressed because they are everywhere. You are in jam and the next thing you see is a Premio with a lead car.”
However, Odong was not in position to explain, asking for more time “I need to go back and check the Law, it’s something I cannot address to this house about right now,” replied Gen. Odongo.
According to the Ugandan Traffic and Safety Act section 123(5), besides the President, Vice president, Chief Justice, Speaker and Prime minister, the other vehicles that should have a ‘right of way’ include: ambulances, police cars, fire-brigades and military vehicles.
A number of people have also fallen ‘victim’ to people who install sirens on their vehicles or motorcycles albeit illegally.
On a lazy Saturday afternoon, Anne Asiimwe was enjoying her cruise on Ggaba Road when suddenly, she heard the sound of sirens. She pulled over and parked her car. In a split second, a boda boda (motorcycle) rider passed her, and grinned her way. She frowned because she thought it was a presidential convoy, ambulance or someone important with the right of way.
