Grapevine

Kampala-Mpondwe Road: What it says about Uganda

The journey from Kampala through Mubende to Fort Portal and Kasese before reaching the border town of Mpondwe spans 425km. Depending on the day’s traffic, it takes just under 10 hours to get to one of the busiest border crossings between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

During my journey, the private bus I boarded was held up in a traffic gridlock at Busega in the capital for more than two hours. Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and National Environment Management Authority (Nema) officials were evicting hundreds of people from the Lubigi wetland. The wetland is a key catchment area and filter of water before it ends up in Lake Victoria. Wetland encroachers had turned part of this sensitive water catchment area into a market, tree nursery beds, and other economic activities that are detrimental to the ecosystem. The enforcement officers, using graders, pulled down illegal structures.

Once the traffic jam unlocked, the driver stepped on the pedal so as not to be caught up in the blows between the encroachers and enforcement officers. The Kampala-Mpondwe Road cuts through eight districts, linking the world to several tourism sites, natural forests and trade to western part of Uganda and beyond.

Our first stopover was Buloba township in Wakiso District, where we got something to eat at a roadside food market. The driver made it abundantly clear that the next stopover would be when we reached Mubende township, about 130kms away. So we all got what would help us recharge our batteries for the next stretch.

Soon after exiting Wakiso District, hills that were shielded by forests were covered by tree plantations. While most of it is public land, private people were allowed to cut down natural trees and replace them with plantations. Some private people given rights to plant plantations also changed the ownership of the land to freehold in their names. Big chunks of the land have since been fenced off.