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On any given day along Uganda’s busy highways and crowded city streets, traffic police officers stand in the middle of the flow, arms raised, whistles blowing, directing vehicles through chaotic intersections.
In Kampala and along the country’s major highways, their presence has become a familiar part of the daily commute. Under Uganda’s Traffic and Road Safety Act, these officers have clear authority.
They can stop vehicles, demand driving permits, inspect mechanical conditions and issue penalties for violations. Many motorists acknowledge that traffic officers often endure long hours in difficult conditions, standing under the scorching sun or in heavy rain, trying to maintain order on roads where impatience and congestion can easily spiral into accidents. Yet for many drivers, a roadside stop is rarely just about the law.
Instead, it often becomes something else entirely: a negotiation. Across Uganda, complaints about bribery during traffic enforcement have persisted for years. Conversations with motorists suggest that what begins as routine enforcement frequently evolves into an informal exchange of cash, sometimes small amounts, sometimes far larger, allowing drivers to continue their journey without facing official penalties.
WHO IS TO BLAME?
For drivers like Musisi John Bosco, who regularly transports passengers into Kampala, such encounters have become almost predictable. Bosco says both motorists and officers share responsibility for the culture that has taken root along Uganda’s roads.
“The day a serious crackdown on corruption in the police begins, many drivers will be in trouble,” he says with a quiet laugh.
He explains that many drivers already know they are breaking the law when they are stopped. Some operate vehicles with expired driving permits. Others have unpaid traffic tickets or mechanical prob- lems that make their vehicles unsafe.
“They already know they are in the wrong,” Bosco says. “So, when they are stopped, they hope the officer will accept a bribe so they can continue the journey.”
The amounts exchanged are often small. Several drivers interviewed said roadside payments can begin at as little as Shs 1,000. For public transport vehicles travelling between Kampala and nearby districts, some drivers say there are stretches of road where paying between Shs 1,000 and 3,000 can help avoid repeated stops by traffic officers.
But not every officer is willing to take money. Bosco recalls one encounter that surprised him because the officer refused a bribe. His vehicle had been issued a traffic ticket more than three months earlier, which had never been paid. While travelling to attend a burial, they were stopped by officers in Migeera. The driver tried to offer cash to resolve the issue immediately. The officer refused.
“He insisted the driver must go and clear the ticket first,” Bosco recalls. The delay was costly. The driver eventually had to hire a boda boda rider for Shs 30,000 to rush to a nearby station, pay the fine, and return before the journey could continue. For some drivers, such strict enforcement is unusual. Others say the deeper problem lies in how little many motorists understand about the law.
KNOW THE TRAFFIC RULES
Bosco believes ignorance of traffic regulations fuels many of the exchanges that occur along Uganda’s roads.
“There is a lot of ignorance among drivers,” he says. “Some don’t even know what they are supposed to do when stopped for a traffic offence.”
Instead of challenging a charge or following official procedures, many motorists prefer to settle matters instantly by handing over cash. At the same time, some drivers argue that parts of the law itself leave room for interpretation.
One example often cited is the rule prohibiting vehicles from operating in a dangerous mechanical condition. Motorists say the law does not clearly define the exact standards that determine whether a vehicle qualifies as mechanically unsafe.
That ambiguity, some drivers claim, can create opportunities for abuse. Another common complaint involves enforcement tactics. Drivers say officers sometimes conceal themselves along roadsides or behind structures before stepping out suddenly to stop vehicles.
Sections of the Northern Bypass, particularly around Naalya, are frequently mentioned in these accounts.
“There should be designated enforcement points,” Bosco says. “The intention of traffic enforcement should be safety. But sometimes it feels like the motive is collecting money.”
Within the transport sector, some sources suggest corruption may also be fueled by pressures inside the system itself. Individuals familiar with traffic operations say allegations have circulated for years that some officers pay money to be assigned to traffic duties in Kampala, where enforcement operations are more frequent.
If such practices occur, the officers involved may feel compelled to recover that money through roadside collections. Other claims suggest some supervisors impose informal financial expectations on junior officers.
These allegations are difficult to independently verify, but critics argue that if true, they could perpetuate corruption within the enforcement system. For drivers like Kyalimpa Julius, encounters with traffic police have become a routine part of the job. Julius says he is stopped frequently while driving through Kampala but rarely pays bribes. Instead, he relies on patience.
“When an officer stops me, I just talk to them politely and try to explain,” he says. “Sometimes I act vulnerable until they let me go.” Not every encounter ends that way. On one occasion, a passenger in his vehicle openly confronted a traffic officer who had stopped them.
“The passenger told the officer he was wasting our time,” Julius recalls. The confrontation escalated. Eventually Julius gave the officer a small amount of money so the journey could continue.
“It was clear he was interested in cash, not enforcing the law,” Julius says. He also points to situations where enforcement practices can create confusion for drivers. One example, he says, occurs at the traffic lights in Nsambya, where officers sometimes divert vehicles from the fly-over onto the lower road. Drivers may move when the lights turn green, only to be accused moments later of ignoring traffic signals. “At that moment, you are left with two choices,” Julius says.
“You either accept a ticket or pay a bribe because they threaten to check CCTV cameras.” For Sekajja Martin, a routine trip turned into a far more intense confrontation. In May 2024, Martin was driving along the Northern Bypass toward a family event when traffic officers stopped him near Naalya.
His driving permit had expired. But the accusations quickly multiplied. Officers said he had been speeding, competing with an ambulance and driving without a valid permit. During the exchange, Martin says one officer walked away with his driving permit.
“I first offered Shs 20,000,” he says. “But he rejected it and said he was taking me to court.” Martin increased the offer to Shs 50,000. The officer allegedly threw the money back. “At that moment, I realized this was serious,” he says.
He called a friend within the police force for advice. The friend suggested that if the officer demanded Shs 200,000, he should simply pay. According to Martin, the officer initially demanded Shs 500,000. After nearly two hours of tense negotiation, they eventually settled on Shs 100,000 before he was allowed to continue his journey.
WHAT IS THE POINT OF ENFORCEMENT?
Road safety experts warn that such exchanges have consequences that go far beyond individual motorists. When drivers can avoid penalties through bribery, the purpose of traffic regulations is undermined.
Vehicles in poor mechanical condition remain on the road. Dangerous driving goes unpunished. The result is a system where enforcement becomes inconsistent and road safety suffers.
Michael Kananura, the public relations officer for the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, says motorists must understand that offering money to traffic officers is itself a criminal offence.
He says police have taken action against both officers who solicit bribes and motorists who offer them through the force’s Alert Squad operations.
“We want the public to know that giving money to traffic officers is also an offence,” Kananura says. “Under the Alert Squad, we have arrested both the people who give bribes and those who receive them and taken them to court.”
Officers found guilty of corruption are also subjected to disciplinary proceedings within the police force. But Kananura acknowledges that detecting bribery is extremely difficult. “The challenge is that it is difficult to know when someone is giving or receiving a bribe,” he says.
“It is something known only to the receiver and the giver.” He encourages members of the public to report such incidents whenever they witness them. Video recordings captured by bystanders have occasionally helped investigators identify officers involved in bribery.
“Where there is evidence, for example video clips showing officers receiving money, we use them,” he says.
“We identify them and charge them accordingly.” Kananura also dismissed allegations that senior police commanders deploy officers specifically to collect money on their behalf.
“If any police officer at the level of Officer in Charge of a station is found involved in such practices, they are immediately removed from that position and disciplined,” he says.
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