Businesses, transport services and banking operations across Kampala, other major towns and highways were disrupted on Saturday morning as Uganda held its inaugural mandatory monthly National Cleaning Day.
The exercise, announced earlier by the Office of the Prime Minister and widely publicised through government agencies, mainstream media and social media, nonetheless caught many travellers and businesses by surprise.
By 7:00 am, major highways had largely fallen silent as security personnel and enforcement teams stopped vehicles at various checkpoints, bringing road traffic to a standstill.
Several passengers travelling on long-distance buses were informed mid-journey that they could not proceed until the end of the three-hour cleaning exercise, leaving many frustrated after being forced to wait at roadside checkpoints.
While some travellers were aware of the new initiative, many said they did not understand how it would be implemented or that it would involve temporary road closures and suspension of movement.
One of the country’s major transport operators, Link Bus Services Ltd, which serves western Uganda and border towns, notified passengers that buses would depart only between 4:00 am and 6:00 am before observing a “sanitation pause” until 10:00 am. Normal departures were scheduled to resume at 10:10 am.
However, the notice was issued at about 9:20 pm on Friday, leaving many passengers who had already made travel arrangements unaware of the changes.
Some overnight travellers, who had covered distances of up to 500 kilometres, found themselves stopped only minutes from their destinations and ordered to wait until the exercise ended at 10:00 am.
At the Buloba traffic checkpoint, passengers aboard a bus travelling to Bundibugyo via Fort Portal engaged in heated exchanges after the vehicle was halted. While some argued that the public had not been adequately informed, others maintained they had seen announcements in the media.
Similar disagreements played out in trading centres, where some traders were instructed to close their businesses during the exercise. One female shopkeeper, who hurriedly shut her premises, said although she supported the initiative, local council leaders should have done more to sensitise communities.
In many parts of Kampala and other towns, businesses remained closed throughout the cleaning exercise, although reports from some areas indicated that commercial activity continued as normal.
Commercial banks, which ordinarily open at 9:00 am on Saturdays, delayed opening until midday or 12:30 pm, with customers advised to use automated teller machines (ATMs), mobile banking and other digital channels during the restricted hours.
While some banks maintained their normal Saturday closing time of 1:00 pm, others extended operations until 4:00 pm to accommodate customers. The exercise also disrupted the tourism sector, with several tour operators reporting delays that affected travel itineraries.
Some tourists travelling from upcountry to Kampala and Entebbe were reportedly unable to continue their journeys, forcing them to reschedule flights. A video circulating on social media showed several tourist vehicles stranded at a checkpoint.
One tour operator, who said he was transporting two foreign tourists to Entebbe International Airport for their return flight, said they were delayed after being stopped by security officers.
According to the operator, the officer at the checkpoint said he was acting on instructions and could not allow them to proceed before the exercise ended.
Similar scenes were reported at several border crossings, where long queues of buses, trucks and private vehicles formed as motorists waited for movement restrictions to be lifted.
While many Ugandans welcomed National Cleaning Day as a positive initiative to improve sanitation and public health, the first rollout exposed gaps in communication and implementation, particularly for travellers, tourists and essential service providers.
Stakeholders have since called for clearer operational guidelines and advance public sensitisation to minimise disruptions while ensuring that critical sectors such as tourism and transport continue to function during future monthly exercises.
People who had flights, they could have been asked for their tickets or proof of booking, should have been allowed to continue to Entebbe airport, this reflects badly on Uganda and will make people think twice before deciding to visit the country.
This is a great initiative it just had to start it’s also a learning experience mitigation measures of challenges arising will be put in place.
Tourists and other service providers will plan better next time but it’s a really welcome agenda.
The Observer we can do better
So, you want tourists to factor cleaning into their trip? Uganda begs for these tourists to come visit and now we want them to delay their plans by three hours? 3 hours is a lot of time for western tourists.
They will simply move their money to Kenya or Tz. I have already seen posts of tourists saying do not go to Uganda, they make tourists clean roads.
I really do not understand why some security operatives cannot understand simple logic! How can you stop a Tourist who is rushing to catch their flight really?
This exercise worked for us all Ugandans cz green pasture healthy environment,there should be no more excuses another time except that there should be enough awareness to the public