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Drivers, locals decry poor state of Gulu-Nimule Road
A vehicle drives through a pothole on Gulu-Nimule highway at the weekend. PHOTO/ EMMY DANIEL OJARA
What you need to know:
- Despite the 106km road being constructed less than 10 years ago, it has developed potholes.
Truck drivers, leaders, and residents have expressed concern over the poor state of the Gulu-Nimule highway.
Despite the fact that the 106km road was constructed less than 10 years ago, it has developed potholes, which drivers and leaders said are leading to many accidents.
At the weekend, the drivers under their umbrella body, the Long-Distance Truck Drivers Association, noted that they are not only suffering mechanical damages but also losing their members owing to the bad state of the road.
This came after two Kenyan truck drivers died in a road crash on the road in the wee hours of Saturday morning in Abalokodi Parish, Attiak Sub-county, Amuru District.
Mohammed Ali, the driver of a fuel tanker, registration number KCC 848J/ZD5753, and his yet-to-be-unidentified turn-man died instantly after their vehicle overturned at around 4am.
Thousands of litres of diesel loaded on the truck, which was on its way from Kenya to Juba, was lost in the accident.
Mr Sudi Mwetale, the chairperson of the association, appealed for urgent rehabilitation of the road.
“The poor state of the road is the cause of all these accidents, we want it to be repaired immediately lest it will continue taking more lives,’’ Mr Sudi said in an interview at the weekend.
Mr Samuel Akera, the Attiak Sub-county chairperson, said most accident victims are pedestrians and motorists who are knocked by vehicles dodging potholes.
“I want to tell you that we have lost so many lives on this road in just two days. One victim is our nursing assistant at Pacilo Health Centre II, Alberto Oroma, another one is a hit-and-run victim while the others are those two involving the fuel tanker,’’ Mr Akera noted.
Meanwhile, police attributed the Saturday accident to the fatigue of the driver. “The driver could have slept off and lost control and overturned, killing the two adult occupants on spot,’’ Amuru District Police Commander Phillip Simon Mukasa said in a press statement.
The most dangerous spots on the highway are between Pabbo Town Council, Attiak Town Council, and Elegu Town Council. Local authorities in Attiak Sub-county said at least five accidents are registered along the road weekly.
Aswa West Police Spokesperson ASP David Ongom Mudong described the Gulu-Nimule Highway as a dark spot for accidents resulting from potholes.
Mr Henry Kumakech, the Unra station manager for the Gulu area, wondered why the road has deteriorated within 10 years of construction. “So far we have a team coming to carry out a detailed investigation to establish the premature failure of this pavement. Unra is doing pothole patching work to reinstate the road pavement and mechanical stabilisation for the base,” he said.
