Link Bus driver arrested for texting while driving

The suspect is 43-year-old Andrew Jemba, a driver of the bus registration number UBG 188P, belonging to Link Bus Services Company.

Jemba was secretly filmed by a passenger texting and scrolling through his smartphone while speeding down the highway on the Kampala - Fortportal road.

The video which went viral on Tuesday and Wednesday was widely condemned by social media users, with many of them calling for his arrest.

By mid-morning on Wednesday, Police managed to apprehend the driver and detained him at Kyegegwa Police Station.

SP Michael Kananura, the Traffic Police Community Liaison Officer said in a statement that Jemba was being charged with Regulation 3(a) & 4 of Traffic and Road Safety (Restriction of Use of Mobile Telephone) Regulations, 2004. 

“The police thus commend the public for their vigilance on road safety and call upon everyone to continue reporting and sharing any information on traffic violations on roads on our toll-free 0800199099,” he said.

“We continue to sound a warning to all motorists who use mobile phones while driving as this has been seen as one of the causes of road crashes in the country.”

Link buses have over the past months been involved in a number of accidents with the deadliest having taken place on the same Kampala Fort-Portal Road killing 23 people in May last year.