On Thursday evening, landslides and stone debris covered a section of the Kabale-Mbarara Highway around the Kabaraga Hills at Karubanda Village in Kyanamira Sub-county of Kabale District. This incident paralyzed traffic flow for several hours.
The incident was reported by Andrew Ahumuza, a resident of Karubanda Village. He noted that it occurred around 6pm, following a downpour that lasted approximately seven hours. The affected road section is located about 5km from Kabale Town.
Ahumuza observed that the prolonged rain weakened the soils, leading to the incident. He also suspects that runoff water from the roofs of the Kirengyere garbage collecting and recycling plant, owned by Kabale municipal council in the neighboring Kyanamira Sub-county, further weakened the soils and rocks on this section.
Erick Nabimaninya, a driver of a Kenyan registered truck, called on Ugandan government officials to treat the incident as an emergency. He pointed out that the affected section is located in the sharp corners of Kabaraga Hills and emphasized that the damaged section should be repaired as soon as possible to prevent accidents.
Alison Abenabo, the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) station engineer for the Kabale area, asked for patience among road users. She assured that a team of engineers has been dispatched to assess the situation and remove the debris to maintain normal traffic flow.
Joseph Mucunguzi, the officer in charge of Traffic at Kabale Central Police Station, was managing traffic flow at the affected spot. He urged motorists and other road users to respect road signs to prevent accidents. He advised them to drive slowly, respect any road signs indicating danger ahead, and drive cautiously. He warned that disrespecting road signs could lead to accidents.
Mucunguzi also advised motorists to exercise discipline and avoid overloading, drink driving, and speeding as they navigate through the hilly terrain of Kabale District. He noted that roads in this area may be slippery and prone to landslides during the rainy seasons.