Brigadier General Charles Bakahumura, the Chief of Logistics and Engineering, has instructed Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) drivers to always be disciplined and follow traffic laws to avoid road accidents.
The remarks were delivered by Colonel Dalington Mugisha’s on Gen. Bakahumura’s behalf at the pass-out ceremony of sixty-nine (69) UPDF soldiers who had completed a six-month driver’s refresher course at the School of Supply and Transport at Jinja Cantonment, Gadaffi Barracks.
“Have discipline and follow traffic rules to avoid traffic offences that cause accidents on the roads. Most road accidents are the result of indiscipline by drivers, so go and be good drivers because if you commit any traffic offence, you will be individually held responsible,” said Brig. Gen. Bakahumura.
He urged the drivers to be excellent ambassadors and demonstrate their new driving skills because they are useful to both the UPDF and Uganda as a whole. He pushed them to always be eager to improve their driving talents in order to better themselves.
According to Col. Amos Rutaremwa, the Commandant SOST, the intake 06/2023 was opened on March 23, 2023, with the objective of producing competent drivers to fill gaps in the UPDF.
He stated that, in collaboration with the Uganda Traffic Police and Inspector of Vehicles (IOV), trainees were taken through the Highway Code, Traffic Rules, and the Road Safety Act 1993 (amended 2000), Roadcraft, Safety Engineering and First Aid, Vehicle Maintenance, Military Law, and Political Education, among other things, during the course. This gave the drivers a B-class vehicle permit.
Col. Rutaremwa further stated that as a result of such training, road accidents in the UPDF have decreased, and he recommended drivers be cautious and utilise the four key concepts of patriotism, democracy, pan-Africanism, and socioeconomic transformation while they carry out their duties.
The Kiira Region Police Traffic Officer, as well as officers and staff from Jinja Cantonment, attended the event.