Minister Katumba Suspends Operations of Link Buses Over Repeated Accidents

The Minister of Works and Transport, General Katumba Wamala, has suspended with immediate effect operations of Link Bus Service Company.

This follows repeated reports of accidents involving the company’s buses in various parts of the country.

On Wednesday, an accident involving a Link bus at Sebitoli along Fort Portal-Kampala Highway claimed the lives of 20 people.

Eyewitnesses said the Link bus registration number UBA 003S which was heading to Kampala from Bundibugyo veered off the road and overturned several times.

While appearing on a local TV station Thursday morning, the minister of State for Works and Transport, Musa Ecweru, said they have dispatched teams of road safety engineers and experts to the scene to investigate the cause of the accident.

“I will personally lead a team to the scene in Kyenjojo this morning to critically establish what could have gone wrong and to prescribe remedies,” he noted.

Ecweru noted that Link buses will be suspended for mechanical examination to ensure that they are safe to be on the road.

“We need to have discussions with bus company managers to have them appreciate that they have an obligation to safeguard the lives of their passengers,” he said.

Ecweru said they are very concerned about the frequency of the accidents on Ugandan roads, and the number of lives lost on well paved roads.

“We will conduct an investigation to ascertain whether it is regulation which isn’t adequate or if it’s enforcement or sensitization that is lacking,” he said.