By Weswa Ronnie
MBALE CITY
Mbale city authorities have entered day three of operations to restore order in the town with taxi and lorry drivers being arrested and their vehicles impounded.
The arrests have taken place today, Wednesday, 4th March, 2026 with some impounded vehicles now parked at Mbale Central Police Station.
The operation, conducted by police, UPDF, and bouncers, targeted drivers parking at unauthorized locations instead of designated taxi and lorry parks.
On Tuesday and Monday, the operation targeted street vendors, and hundreds of illegal structures and kiosks along Republic Street, Naboa Road, and Market Street among others where most of the illegal Kiosks were demolished using a grader and enforcement team.
According to Godfrey Mugisha, the Town Clerk of Industrial City Division, over ten trucks and taxis were impounded today Wednesday, and drivers were arrested for defying the rules.
He says the operation aims to bring order to the city, urging drivers to abide by the laws and park their vehicles in designated areas.
Some drivers interviewed by our reporter during the operation expressed concerns. One lorry driver said Mbale city allocated Kumi Road market as a parking area, but the site is still filled with rubbish and hasn’t been cleared.
Another taxi driver added that Mbale Taxi Park is too small to accommodate over 100 taxis operating in the city.
Mbale City Deputy Town Clerk, Jolly Hasoho responded to lorry drivers, saying they were allocated two parking areas: Mpumude playground in Northern Division and Kumi Road market.
She noted that despite allocating Mpumude playground last year, no lorry driver has used it, claiming it’s far from the city which is not an issue to them as a city authority.
Hasoho stated that that is not the city council’s problem. She confirmed the operation is serious and ongoing.
When contacted for a comment about the arrests, Rogers Taitika, the Elgon region police spokesperson said the DPC hadn’t sent him a report to address the media.
