Traffic remains calm on Entebbe road as NAM starts
Motorists should read and respect road signs on the Kampala -Entebbe expressway. PHOTO BY DAVID S. MUKOOZA
What you need to know:
- Some of the people expressed dismay at the security put in place for the summits.
Traffic flow on the Kampala-Entebbe Highway remained calm as the long-awaited Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit kicked off on January 15.
There was, however, heavy deployment of security on the road from Entebbe International Airport to Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala where the summit is taking place.
Although it had earlier been communicated by the Uganda Police Force that there would be a diversion of traffic heading to Kampala City Centre at Mpala and Kisubi to allow the delegates to travel to the venue using the Expressway, the road remained open and operational to motorists.
A source within the police, who preferred anonymity since he isn’t allowed to speak to press, told Daily Monitor that the diversion of traffic would only occur when the need arises.
However, some of the people expressed dismay at the security put in place for the summits.
Mr Ismael Lubwama, a businessman at Abaita Ababiri on the Kampala-Entebbe Highway, said security operatives chased them from the area.
“We have observed the situation and it has overwhelmed us but we have handed everything to God until these meetings end because most of the people who have been operating small businesses like snacks, restaurants, and chapati stalls have been chased away from the main road,” he said.
“We hope the visitors leave quickly since we need to look for fees to pay for our children as the opening of the new term nears,” he added.
Mr Lubwama said there is need for better planning in future for such conferences while putting into consideration the low-income earners who operate businesses by the roadside.
Mr Lawrence Musisi, a boda boda rider at Abaita Ababiri, said they were told to remove some of the stages from the main road.
“They threatened to arrest us and grounding your motorcycle but so far the security personnel have not treated us so badly. They have tried to talk to us on how we should operate until the meeting ends although all the stages that were located along the main road have been pushed back inside the connecting roads,” he said.
