By Aaron Okotel
MBALE CITY
Residents of Malukhu Ward in Industrial City Division, Mbale, on Thursday, 26th February, 2026 staged a protest over a two-week power outage that has crippled businesses and heightened insecurity in the area.
The demonstrators, drawn mainly from Malukhu and Nabweya Ward in Northern City Division, accused power distributor, UEDCL of failing to resolve a transformer fault that has left them in darkness for more than 14 days.
Carrying placards expressing their frustration, the residents marched to the UCDEL regional offices in Mbale City, demanding immediate restoration of electricity.
Business owners say the blackout has dealt a severe blow to their livelihoods. Agnes Nadudu, a resident of Malukhu Adra who operates a salon, said she was forced to close her business due to the outage.
“I depend on electricity to run my salon. For two weeks now, I have had no income because I cannot serve my customers,” Nadudu said.
The outage has also affected other small-scale enterprises, including mobile money operators, grocery shops and soft drink vendors, many of whom joined the protest after shutting down their businesses.
Majidu Mwemeke, a boda boda rider in the area, said the lack of electricity has disrupted their operations, particularly during night hours.
“We are no longer working at night because the area is too dark. It is risky for both riders and passengers,” he said.
Wephukhulu Charles, the area defense secretary of Muti Cell, Malukhu ward, expressed concern over rising insecurity linked to the blackout. He cited cases of motorcycle theft reported during the night.
“The darkness has created an opportunity for thieves. We recently recorded a case of a stolen motorcycle from one of our residents,” Charles said, adding that the community feels increasingly vulnerable.
Addressing the protesters, Wilson Egesa, the UEDCL Area Manager for Elgon, acknowledged the outage and attributed it to a damaged transformer.
“We acknowledge that we have transformers that are out, especially the one in Maluku and another in Nabweya,” Egesa stated. “We expect those replacement transformers to be on-site soon. By Saturday, we should be able to sort those problems and restore power to our residents.”
Beyond infrastructure repairs, Egesa cautioned residents about domestic safety during blackouts. He urged customers to unplug electronic appliances to prevent damage from power surges when electricity supply is restored.
