KAMPALA, Uganda — Owners of old and mechanically unsafe taxis operating in Kampala and neighbouring districts have been warned that their vehicles will be removed from the roads as the government launches a 100-day road safety enforcement operation in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.
Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama on Thursday directed police to begin impounding taxis found in dangerous mechanical condition, with the operation set to begin Monday.
The first phase will cover Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono before being extended to other parts of the country.
Byamukama clarified that the government was not banning the taxi business but targeting vehicles commonly known as “ganyegenya” because of their poor physical and mechanical condition.
“We have not banned the business of taxis. No, we love the business of taxis, and we are supporting them, but we have banned ‘ganyegenya’ taxis in Greater Kampala and the surrounding areas for the first phase,” Byamukama said.
He said police had been instructed to impound vehicles that fail to meet safety requirements, with seized taxis to be kept at a parking yard provided by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in Nakawa.
“With effect from Monday, don’t bring back these ganyegenya cars in Kampala and surrounding areas,” the minister warned.
According to Byamukama, some of the taxis targeted in the crackdown have serious defects that make them dangerous for public transport.
The defects include worn-out tyres, faulty braking and steering systems, damaged or missing seats and defective doors.
He said authorities had encountered cases where drivers were forced to hold taxi doors shut while driving, putting both passengers and motorists at risk.
“Some of these taxis are DMCs and are not acceptable on the roads. At some point you find a driver driving while holding the door, which is risky for passengers and the driver himself,” he said.
The minister also raised concerns about vehicles that had previously been involved in accidents and were later purchased from garages, given minimal repairs and returned to the roads.
“These are cars which are worn out. These are cars which got accidents some time back, and the owners abandoned them in the garages,” Byamukama said.
“But our own Ugandans buy them from these garages at a very cheap cost. They just put tyres and bring them on the road.”
The government says it first gave taxi owners an opportunity to demonstrate that their vehicles were roadworthy before resorting to compulsory enforcement.
Byamukama said voluntary inspections conducted over about 60 days produced worrying results, with none of the vehicles presented for inspection passing the required standards.
“If you are proving to government your car is not ganyegenya, take it for inspection. It will not pass. We have tested some voluntarily for the last 60 days, but none of them has passed,” he said.
Reports indicate that between 30 and 60 vehicles were examined during the voluntary exercise.
The minister said the renewed enforcement was being conducted under existing laws and that police would now be expected to take action against vehicles that fail to meet roadworthiness requirements.
The government first announced measures against unroadworthy taxis in March, giving operators 20 days to repair or withdraw vehicles considered unsafe.
The directive faced resistance from sections of the taxi industry.
Operators under the Uganda Taxi Operators Federation (UTOF), led by chairperson Rashid Ssekindi, asked the government for more time, arguing that many vehicle owners could not afford the cost of repairs.
They also called for wider consultations, warning that abrupt enforcement could affect drivers, conductors, vehicle owners and other workers whose livelihoods depend on public transport.
Taxi operators have further argued that poor road infrastructure contributes to the rapid deterioration of vehicles, particularly those operating on heavily damaged roads.
The renewed crackdown comes as the government seeks to strengthen road safety enforcement across the public transport sector.
An estimated 15,000 taxis operate in the Kampala metropolitan area, transporting thousands of passengers every day between Kampala and surrounding communities.
Authorities have stressed that mechanically sound taxis that meet roadworthiness requirements will not be affected.
However, concerns remain that removing a large number of unsafe vehicles at the same time could reduce public transport availability on some routes.
Commuters have therefore been advised to prepare for possible changes in transport availability when the operation begins Monday.
For taxi owners, the directive means vehicles operating despite serious mechanical defects could now be impounded.
For passengers, the government says the ultimate objective is to ensure that public transport vehicles are safe enough to carry them.
The 100-day operation will test the government’s ability to enforce road safety regulations while balancing passenger safety with the economic realities of Uganda’s heavily relied-upon taxi industry.
