Residents of Bwindi in Buhoma Town Council, Kanungu District, on Friday staged a demonstration protesting the deteriorating condition of the tourism road connecting Bwindi to Kanyantorogo.
The protest came barely 24 hours after President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni delivered his State of the Nation Address, in which he strongly defended his government’s infrastructure record and highlighted progress in road construction across the country.
Angry residents and business owners blocked traffic and held a massive demonstration over the deplorable state of the Bwindi–Kanyantorogo road, describing it as a critical tourism and trade route that has turned into a death trap, hurting the local economy and endangering both international visitors and residents.
The protest was fueled by grief and frustration, with residents citing a series of tragic accidents they believe could have been avoided had the road been properly maintained.
On January 27, 2025, a 40-year-old American tourist, Harrison Evan Shuldman from New York, died instantly when a tourist van registration number UAM 271U, returning from gorilla tracking, reportedly lost control on the steep road, rolled several times, and plunged into a river at the notorious Munyaga Bridge in Kakureiju Village. Three other American tourists and their Ugandan driver sustained serious injuries.
In August and September 2025, a local mechanic from Kihihi lost his life along the rough stretch between Bushoro and the Ishasha River while picking up his child from Kayonza. The child sustained critical injuries after their vehicle reportedly lost control.
On December 27, 2025, Roland Golola Kiiza, 30, died after his motorcycle crashed on the rugged Nyamigoye stretch in Kanyantorogo while returning home from Kabale for the festive season.
Another fatal accident occurred on March 11, 2026, at the infamous Munyaga Bridge when a FAW truck, registration number UBR 167B, transporting iron ore reportedly lost control and overturned into the river. The driver, Philip Mukunya, died instantly, while his turnboy, Richard Mugabe, sustained serious injuries.
Residents noted that in all these incidents, police accident reports cited a combination of brake failure and poor road conditions as the major contributing factors.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park remains one of Uganda’s premier tourist destinations, attracting an estimated 80 international tourists daily.
Moses Bashaija, the Mayor of Buhoma Town Council, said many tourists consistently complain about the poor state of the road.
“Whenever we interact with them, their primary complaint is the shocking state of the road,” Bashaija said. “They ask why the infrastructure is in such poor condition despite paying 800 US dollars for a gorilla tracking permit.”
Bashaija appealed to the Ministries of Finance and Works to urgently release funds for the rehabilitation of the road, noting that residents recently saw a written presidential directive ordering repairs. However, locals say government promises to fix the road have remained unfulfilled for over 20 years.
Residents further revealed that the poor road network has severely affected business, especially during heavy rains when commercial buses transporting goods from Kampala are often cut off between Butogota and Bwindi.
Kanungu District LC5 Chairperson, Byamukama Francis Kapesha, described the roads as being in an “unspoken state of worst neglect.”
He explained that under the former centralized management system of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), emergency response teams would quickly intervene whenever local leaders raised concerns. However, since the roads were transferred to the Ministry of Works, interventions have delayed significantly.
According to Byamukama, the road requires continuous and specialized maintenance due to three major environmental factors: the highly mountainous terrain, heavy rainfall caused by proximity to Bwindi forest, and soft, sandy soils that easily trigger landslides and wash away sections of the road even after light rains.
The Member of Parliament for Kinkizi West Honorable James Ruugi Kaberuka says that he has repeatedly submitted requests to Parliament for the rehabilitation of the Kanyantorogo–Buhoma–Bwindi road since his first term in office, but the road has remained neglected.
The Kanungu District Woman Member of Parliament Honorable Patience Kinshaba Nkunda, says that despite the Kanyantorogo–Buhoma–Butogota road being included in the ruling party’s 2021–2026 manifesto, it remains in a deplorable condition.
She warned that the continued neglect of the road threatens one of the country’s key tourism assets, noting that Bwindi contributes substantial foreign exchange earnings to the national economy.
