From American Tourist to Local Rider: 4 Deadly Crashes Cited in Kanungu

KANUNGU -Just twenty-four hours after President Yoweri Museveni delivered his State of the Nation Address—vigorously defending his infrastructure legacy and touting widespread road construction—the ground reality in Kanungu District erupted in fierce defiance.On Friday morning, June 5, 2026, angry residents and business owners of Buhoma Town Council blocked traffic and staged a massive protest over the dilapidated state of the Bwindi-Kanyantorogo road. The vital tourism and trade artery, locals say, has degenerated into a death trap that is actively sabotaging the local economy and killing both international visitors and local citizens.The demonstration was fueled by deep grief and frustration, as protestors cited a grim catalog of recent, preventable tragedies caused by the heavily degraded, mountainous terrain on the Kanyantorogo-Buhoma-Bwindi stretch: January 27, 2025: An American tourist, 40-year-old Harrison Evan Shuldman of New York, died on the spot when a tourist van (UAM 271U) returning from gorilla tracking veered off the steep road, rolled multiple times, and plunged into the river at the notorious Munyaga Bridge in Kakureiju Village.Three other Americans and their Ugandan driver sustained severe injuries. August–September 2025: A local mechanic from Kihihi lost his life on the rough stretch from Bushoro toward the Ishasha River while picking up his child from Kayonza. The child suffered critical injuries when their vehicle lost control.December 27, 2025: Roland Golola Kiiza, 30, died when his motorcycle crashed on the jagged Nyamigoye stretch in Kanyantorogo while riding home from Kabale for the holidays. March 11, 2026: Tragedies returned to the infamous Munyaga Bridge when a FAW snow-truck (UBR 167B) hauling iron ore lost control and overturned into the river. The driver, Philip Mukunya, was killed instantly, and his turnboy, Richard Mugabe, was badly injured.In every instance, police accident reports pointed to a deadly combination of vehicle brake failure and treacherous, poorly maintained road conditions.Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a premier global destination, welcoming roughly 80 international tourists every single day."Whenever we interact with them, their primary complaint is the shocking state of the road," explained Moses Bashaija, the Mayor of Buhoma Town Council. "They ask why the infrastructure is so broken when they each pay $800 for a single gorilla tracking permit."Mayor Bashaija pleaded with the Ministries of Finance and Works to immediately release funding for this vital tourism road, noting that residents recently saw a written directive from the President ordering repairs. Ironically, locals point out that the government has been promising to fix this exact road for more than 20 years.The economic damage stretches beyond tourism. Locals noted that whenever it rains, heavy commercial buses traveling from Kampala loaded with merchandise for local business entities are completely cut off, unable to cross from Butogota to Bwindi.The crisis has been exacerbated by administrative shifts. Kanungu District Chairperson, Hon. Byamukama Francis Kapesha, described the roads as being in an "unspoken state of worst neglect." He explained that under the previous, centralized system of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), emergency response teams would quickly intervene when local leaders cried for help. However, since the roads were taken over by the Ministry of Works, it has taken too long without any intervention.According to Chairperson Byamukama, the road demands specialized, constant maintenance due to three distinct environmental factors: 1. The terrain is highly mountainous and hilly. 2. The area receives heavy rainfall due to its proximity to the National Park forest. 3. The local soil composition is incredibly soft and sandy, meaning even a light shower triggers landslides, buries paths, and washes away chunks of the road to create massive potholes.At the burial of the late motorcycle victim, Roland Golola, local members of parliament united in their condemnation of the central government's inaction.Hon. James Ruugi Kaberuka, MP for Kinkizi West, revealed that he has formally submitted the Kanyantorogo-Buhoma-Bwindi road to Parliament for rehabilitation multiple times since his first term in office, yet it remains completely ignored.Hon. Patience Kinshaba Nkunda, the Woman MP for Kanungu District, reiterated that despite the Kanyantorogo-Buhoma-Butogota stretch being explicitly included in the ruling party's 2021–2026 manifesto, it remains in a "deplorable state." She warned that the government is risking a critical asset, given that Bwindi generates massive, vital foreign exchange revenue for the national treasury.As the protest in Buhoma continues, residents say they will no longer accept empty political promises while their lives and livelihoods slide into the Munyaga River.By: T. Mwajuma Twaha Adams, Communications Officer, Kanungu District Local Government.