State House has broken the silence on the traffic gridlock along Masaka Road that saw several motorists spend the night on the highway.
In a statement on Tuesday, State House dismissed claims that the gridlock was caused by President Museveni's convoy, attributing it to indiscipline by drivers.
"While delays are regrettable, it is inaccurate and misleading to place responsibility on the President's convoy. For clarity, very limited and time-bound road closures during presidential movements are standard operating procedures world over and are carefully coordinated to minimize disruption," the State House statement said.
" In this instance, several other factors significantly contributed to the congestion. These included the heavy end-of-month traffic as many motorists were returning from upcountry holidays, poor road discipline by some drivers who failed to respect other road users and created multiple lanes, and a heavy downpour that reduced visibility and compelled some motorists to temporarily park and wait for the storm to subside."
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Several commentators, especially on social media alleged that the President's convoy led to the gridlock after several roads were blocked to allow the president pass.
"Nobody should have the right to inconvenience citizens in this manner," National Unity Platform president, Robert Kyagulanyi said, raising concerns about patients and emergency cases caught in the traffic.
However, State House trashes these claims, noting that there was something similar last year when there were no presidential campaigns.
"It is therefore incorrect to politicize and wrongly attribute this unfortunate event. We encourage the public to consider the full context of such situations and to exercise patience and responsible road use,
especially during periods of heavy traffic and adverse weather conditions."
Earlier, Police had indicated that the gridlock which started on Monday evening up to Tuesday said the congestion was driven by a high volume of vehicles from Masaka side to Kampala and compounded by indiscipline by drivers.
"The situation was worsened by a crash involving a truck and a lorry at Lungala that temporarily cut off the road completely as well as a broken down trailer at Kamengo area," traffic police said.