About 100 residents of Nyakyonga-Kamuganguzi in Kabale district have protested against the rising number of road accidents in their area.
The residents attempted to erect an illegal roadblock along the Kabale-Katuna highway, late last week, to force the police and district authorities to pay attention to the carnage on the road. They claimed that one particular spot on the road, which is about 15 kilometers from Kabale town, is so dangerous that close to 500 people have died there in the past 12 months.
This claim could not be independently verified.
The residents were particularly angry that despite the accidents, the police is doing little to stop over speeding on the road and calls to build speed humps have been ignored.
The protests at Nyakyonga were stopped by the police before they got out of hand.
Shafiq Sekandi, Kabale's Deputy Resident District Commissioner, said he rushed to the scene to placate the furious mob. He admitted that little had been done to protect pedestrians and motorists on the Kabale-Katuna Road, but promised to use his office to push for action.
Sekandi came to the defense of the Kabale police. He said that in the past few months, they have arrested numerous people for reckless driving and collected up to 13 million shillings in spot fines for traffic offenses.
However the Nyakyonga residents demanded for more action to save their lives.
The police have not commented on this development.
