By Aggrey Baba
As Ugandans groan under soaring fuel prices, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) has reignited memories of its incarcerated leader Dr Kizza Besigye’s Walk-to-Work campaign, urging citizens who can no longer afford taxis and boda bodas to walk to work rather than stay home and starve.
PFF acting chairman Dr Michael Lulume Bayiga said Ugandans must not allow rising transport costs to force them out of work, urging those who can no longer afford daily fares to use their feet to earn the money needed to feed their families.
The appeal comes amid mounting concerns over the cost of living, with Bayiga citing petrol at UHX6,874 per litre and demanding that government reduce the pump price to UGX5,000.
By reviving the Walk-to-Work idea, Dr Lulume Bayiga has brought back memories of the 2011 campaign popularized by Dr Besigye, then under the FDC, when Ugandans took to the streets on foot to protest soaring fuel and commodity prices under the NRM government.
The campaign transformed the daily journey to work into a form of political protest, triggering confrontations with security forces, arrests and the firing of tear gas. It became one of the most prominent episodes of opposition mobilization around the cost of living.
Now, with transport expenses again eating into household incomes, the PFF is urging Ugandans to consider walking rather than abandon their workplaces because they cannot afford the fare.
“You cannot afford a taxi. You cannot afford a special hire. You cannot afford a boda boda. You don’t have money to buy a bicycle. Walk to your place of work. Please use your feet, use your legs, go and work to get some bread to table to feed your children,” he said.
The PFF leader argued that remaining at home would only deepen the economic distress of families whose survival depends on daily wages, trading and other small-scale economic activities. He said people should continue earning wherever walking is a practical option instead of allowing expensive transport to cut off their livelihoods.
But he also turned his criticism on government, arguing that citizens should not be left to improvise survival strategies while the authorities fail to adequately address the pressures driving up transport and commodity prices.
He demanded that government reduce fuel taxes and return excise duty to its 2021 level, arguing that lower fuel prices would ease the cost of transporting goods and conducting business.
He also questioned the transparency of Uganda National Oil Company’s fuel-import arrangements, demanding publication of the prices at which UNOC buys petroleum products and the margins at which it sells them to oil marketing companies.
Dr Bayiga attributed the pressure on fuel prices partly to the weakening shilling, noting that petroleum products are purchased in dollars, making imports more expensive as the local currency depreciates.
According to Bayiga, the consequences extend far beyond vehicle owners. Traders, manufacturers, transport operators and ordinary households ultimately bear the cost through higher prices for food, merchandise and other necessities.
He further linked the high cost of living to expensive electricity, arguing that businesses facing power outages and high tariffs are forced to incur additional costs that are eventually passed on to consumers.
He also warned government against responding to public frustration with force, recalling the security crackdown associated with Besigye’s earlier Walk-to-Work campaign. He urged the government to reduce spending on tear gas and guns and redirect resources towards measures that could provide economic relief.
Although he presented walking primarily as a practical coping mechanism rather than announcing a new nationwide protest, his remarks have revived a politically charged symbol of opposition resistance to rising living costs. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
