Trucks at the Malaba border on January 3. Uganda has installed more weighbridges but truck drivers claim these have become extortion points.. Photo | File
On March 29, our undercover reporter embarked on a trip from Masaka to Kampala at 4am to investigate claims that weighbridges on highways were becoming extortion points.
It was a public holiday, resulting in fewer public transport vehicles on the usually busy Kampala-Masaka Highway. The reporter boarded a Fuso truck carrying maize grains from Rakai District.
Upon reaching Lukaya Town at 4:45am, the reporter noted the truck driver stopped 20 metres from the weighbridge, tore a piece of paper from an exercise book on the dashboard, and asked the reporter to wait while he “sorted out a few things” with the security personnel.
“He (the truck driver) entered the office at the weighbridge and had a brief chat with a female police officer at the counter. Within less than three minutes, the driver was cleared to set off,” the reporter observed.
Curious, the reporter asked the driver why the truck’s axle load weight was not measured. The driver laughed and said: “Do you think these weighbridges work? We simply pay some money, ranging between Shs50,000 and Shs100,000, depending on the truck’s size, and we go. Don’t you see the receipt? She (the female police officer) stamped this paper. If another Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) team at Buwama intercepts me, I will show them this receipt.”
The driver confirmed that his truck’s load exceeded the permissible single axle load weight by two tonnes.
The driver further explained that weighbridge rules only apply to inter-state haulers, while many inland truck drivers pay cash and proceed.
Transporters reportedly overload their vehicles to save on transport costs, damaging and reducing the lifespan of highways, where billions of taxpayers’ money has been spent.
“What is defeating my understanding is that UNRA has mobile weighbridges along major highways, but some overloaded trucks carrying goods for ‘powerful people’ continue to bypass the weighbridges. This is really unfair,” Mr Sam Mutebi, a transporter, said.
At the UNRA weighbridge in Luweero District on the Kampala-Gulu highway, truck drivers also claim some officials at the axle load control unit breached guidelines for bribes.
Mr Majid Ssebulime, a long-distance truck driver transporting cargo to the Democratic Republic of Congo, revealed that the truck clearance system at the weighbridge is handled differently, with some transporters finding ways to avoid penalties.
“Some of us who drive trucks for international companies get subjected to the normal system, while several overloaded trucks get through with clearance,” he said.
Mr Isma Guma, another truck driver, disclosed that those who bribe their way at the bridges receive backing from highly connected people and are given special clearance.
This publication could not ascertain the type of special clearance given at the weighbridges, although several drivers pointed to influential individuals coordinating the clearance.
Mr Christopher Arinaitwe, a transporter on the Kampala-Kigali route, said: “We usually come with the right weights, but if you know your tonnage is bigger than recommended, you cannot go on the weighbridge because you will be fined Shs1 million, which is paid directly to the Uganda Revenue Authority.”
Mr Arinaitwe added that when trucks are overloaded, arrangements are made early with people on the road who process a pass to continue the journey.
“There are also mobile weighbridges manned by UNRA staff. If they catch us, we can give them at least Shs 300,000 and continue, depending on who is manning the system at that time,” he further said.
The Jinja City Mayor, Mr Peter Okocha Kasolo, accused some UNRA staff at weighbridges of turning it into a business to demand bribes from transporters with excess loads. “We see some cargo trucks parked along highways like in Musita, Mayuge District, where drivers pretend to present documents to the officers. But after this formality, they simply drive off,” Mr Kasolo said.
The UNRA spokesperson, Mr Allan Ssempebwa, refuted these claims, stating that staff at weighbridges are doing good work, evidenced by the increasing revenue from penalties issued to drivers of overloaded trucks.
However, he acknowledged that if there are isolated cases of extortion, they would strengthen their mobile weighbridge unit to conduct spot checks on trucks with suspicious cargo weight.
“Our interest is not in giving penalties to cargo truck drivers but to stop errant truck drivers from overloading on our highways,” he said.
Suspension
In September 2009, then-Works and Transport Minister Mr John Nasasira imposed a temporary suspension on weighbridges and axle load control units after discovering that officials were abusing the system by allowing overloaded trucks to pass through unchecked, allegedly after being bribed.
In December 2007, Uganda banned four-axle trucks from its roads to save infrastructure and reduce the road maintenance budget, which stood at Shs150 billion at the time.
In the new financial year 2024/2025, a total of Shs4.9 trillion was allocated to integrated transport infrastructure and services, making it one of the sectors that took a lion’s share of the Shs72 trillion national budget.
Compiled by Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa , Felix Ainebyoona, Dan Wandera, Denis Edema & Brian Adams Kesiime
