Uganda’s Traffic Police have warned motorists and other road users that the days of escaping traffic offences through personal connections and phone calls are coming to an end, as enforcement of traffic laws becomes increasingly strict.
Traffic Police spokesperson SP Michael Kananura said the law itself is increasingly becoming the “gamba n’ogu” — the final authority — leaving offenders with fewer opportunities to seek intervention from influential people after being stopped for traffic violations.
“Who else has noticed that ‘GAMBA N’OGU’ will soon be no more?” Kananura posted on X on Thursday. “The days of ‘wait, let me call someone’ are coming to an end. The law is becoming the gamba n’ogu! No phone call, no connections, no ‘you know who I am.’ If you violate traffic laws, you face the consequences.”
Kananura’s remarks come amid intensified traffic enforcement operations across the country targeting motorists and motorcycle riders accused of violating road safety regulations.
In its latest weekly road safety update, the Uganda Police Force said 3,691 drivers and riders were apprehended in one week for various traffic offences. The offences included careless driving and overtaking, dangerous loading, driving vehicles in dangerous mechanical condition, driving without valid licences, illegal vehicle modifications and disobeying traffic directions.
Motorcycle riders accounted for a significant share of the arrests, with 574 apprehended for riding without crash helmets and another 518 for riding without valid licences. Police also arrested 13 motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol.
The police have linked risky road-user behaviour, particularly speeding, reckless overtaking and non-compliance with traffic regulations, to a significant proportion of crashes recorded on Ugandan roads.
According to the same police report, boda boda riders accounted for 50 percent of road fatalities recorded during the week, while pedestrians accounted for 32 percent.
The enforcement campaign has been accompanied by road-safety sensitisation, particularly in Kampala Metropolitan South and the Masaka East policing region, which police identified among areas heavily affected by road crashes in the 2025 Annual Crime Report.
Kananura has previously said that traffic enforcement is intended not merely to punish offenders but to promote discipline and reduce deaths and injuries on the country’s roads. In April, Traffic Police said 793 offenders had been apprehended during a week-long operation, including motorists driving mechanically defective vehicles, driving without licences and riders without helmets.
The Traffic and Road Safety Act places a duty on police to regulate traffic and maintain order on roads, while requiring the recording of traffic offences and their outcomes.
Kananura’s latest message therefore signals a broader push towards consistent enforcement, with motorists being urged to comply with traffic laws rather than rely on personal influence to avoid consequences.
For Uganda’s road users, the message is increasingly straightforward: the traffic officer may stop you, but the law—not the phone call you make afterwards—is expected to determine what happens next.
