Link Bus driver Jjemba denies using mobile phone while driving, granted bail 

The Law Development Centre Court in Kampala has charged Andrew Jjemba, a driver with Link Bus Company who was captured on video using his phone while driving.

The Fort Portal-bound bus was plying the Kampala-Fort Portal highway. Police intercepted and arrested Jemba in Kyegegwa district after passengers raised concerns on social media. On Friday, Jjemba was arraigned before senior principal grade one magistrate Martins Kirya and charged under Regulation 3(a) & 4 of Traffic and Road Safety (Restriction of Use of Mobile Telephone) Regulations, 2004.

Court heard that on October 31, 2023, at about 10 am in Namungoona along Hoima road in Lubaga district, Jemba who driving the Isuzu bus, registration number, UBG 188P was using a mobile phone.

Prosecution led by Timothy Eduti the resident state attorney at LDC Court informed the court that investigations into the case are still ongoing and asked for an adjournment. Jjemba denied the charges and asked to be granted bail on the grounds that it’s his constitutional right to apply for bail and that the charges against him are bailable by the LDC court and that he will be available as and when required in court.

He noted that he had substantial sureties. Kirya granted Jemba cash bail of Shs 500,000 and each of his sureties was asked to execute a non-cash bond commitment of Shs 1 million which will be paid in the event that Jemba absconds from trial. The case was adjourned to November 22, 2023.

Accidents involving Link Buses have been common in the past year. The latest was in July when the bus, registration number UAY485E rammed into a stationary trailer registration number UAV 326W which carrying logs along the Fort Portal-Kampala highway in Mukunyu trading center, Kyenjojo district. The driver Dauda Kawuwa, died on the spot while several passengers sustained injuries.

In February, 23 people were injured in a link bus accident in Mubende district at Gwanika along the Fort Portal-Kampala highway. In 2022, 25 people perished in a fatal accident along the Fort Portal-Kampala highway in Busoro sub-county.

Following the crash, a joint team comprising ministry of Works officials, the police, and the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) was established to investigate the cause of the accident.

According to the findings, the cause of the accident was overspeeding. Although the driver of the bus, Paul Ssempagala had over 20 years of experience as a bus driver with no recorded crash history or reckless driving, the findings noted that he was captured by police CCTV moving at a speed of 99km/hr above the prescribed speed limit of 80km/hr. The driver was also captured driving with one arm while the other holding an object suspected to be a phone.