By Aggrey Baba
The tragic death of Rajiv Ruparelia, former Managing Director of the Ruparelia Group of Companies, in a car crash on the Busabala Flyover in Makindye-Ssabagab, last week, has once raised pressing concerns about the state of Uganda’s public infrastructure and road safety.
While details of the crash, where Rajiv’s high-speed Nissan GTR reportedly lost control and burst into flames, continue to stir public reflection, seasoned journalist and public affairs commentator Simon Kaheru has sounded an alarm over the country’s deteriorating infrastructure standards and governance failures.
In a commentary published this week in the New Vision, Kaheru condemned the complacency with which Ugandans treat critical infrastructure issues, warning that the dangerous mentality of normalising poor workmanship and delayed road projects is killing innocent people.
“We mourn the dead, but we never learn. Tragedy after tragedy, and we still act like nothing needs to change.”
Sharing his personal observations, Kaheru recounted a troubling incident on his way to Kapeka in Matugga one day, where he saw a young boy using a pickaxe to dig at a manhole cover, reportedly to sell it for scrap.
To Kaheru, the sight was more than an act of vandalism, but a symbol of a system in disrepair.
“Where is the seriousness in our road management?” he asked, adding that the boy was freely hacking at road infrastructure while the government looks away. “That’s how chaos begins” he said.
He further criticized the long-standing trend of road projects [like the Busabala road where Rajiv perished] dragging on for years, with no clear timeline or accountability. Dust, silt, open trenches and blocked access points have become part of everyday life for residents, many of whom endure the environmental hazards without complaint.
“These people breathe in that dust every day. Years from now, they’ll be fighting for their lives because of what they inhaled. And still, no one will be held responsible,” Kaheru stated.
In his commentary, Kaheru also highlighted how road and drainage works are often implemented with little to no consideration for the people living and working nearby.
He cited an example of a salon worker whose shop entrance was blocked by a newly installed culvert, leaving her with no customer access.
He noted that while the language of development, “human rights, child labour, community engagement,” is regularly used by authorities, the lived reality on the ground paints a different picture.
“Those words mean nothing when people are suffering daily and the system doesn’t care,” he said.
Calling on the Ministry of Works and Transport to enforce accountability, Kaheru referenced previous public commitments by Gen. Katumba Wamala but urged that promises must be matched with action.
“Our thinking has become dangerously normalised. We actually believe it’s okay for roads to be ‘under construction’ for years. That’s a shoddy mentality, and it’s killing us,” Kaheru remarked.
As the country continues to mourn Rajiv Ruparelia, his untimely death may serve as a somber reminder of the urgency to rethink how Uganda plans, builds, and maintains its public infrastructure, not just in memory of one life lost, but to prevent many more. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
