Betrayal in His Own Backyard? Museveni Faces Revolt Over Crumbling Ankole Roads

President Yoweri Museveni is staring down another political storm as pressure mounts over the crumbling state of roads in the Ankole sub-region—his own backyard.The once-reliable Mbarara-Bushenyi-Ishaka and Mbarara-Ibanda highways have now become scars across the land, with potholes multiplying like weeds after a rainstorm and lanes narrowing dangerously with each passing week.

The situation has reached boiling point. What used to be smooth rides across western Uganda are now bone-rattling journeys through neglected tarmac and fading road markings.

Motorists are forced to swerve around potholes the size of craters, risking accidents with every twist of the wheel. For heavy trucks, the roads are a mechanical graveyard—eating up tires, snapping suspensions, and grinding commerce to a halt.

Even worse are the feeder and access roads connecting the rural heartlands to urban centers. These have withered into dusty trails during the dry season and muddy traps during the rains, cutting off communities from markets, health services, and schools.

For farmers trying to get their produce to market, it feels like dragging hope through the mud.

Local leaders and residents have now begun to raise their voices—loudly. Several have accused the government of turning a blind eye to the very region that has long stood firmly behind Museveni at the ballot box.

Sources within the Ministry of Works confirm that assessments have been done, and funding proposals submitted, but bureaucratic delays and budget prioritization elsewhere have left the rehabilitation projects hanging in limbo. Meanwhile, the roads keep breaking apart like dry bread.

LINK: https://x.com/nbstv/status/1952238606388441232

The leaking of internal government reports pointing to the dire state of the highways has only fueled public frustration. The documents reportedly recommend immediate intervention to prevent “total infrastructural collapse” in the region—a phrase that has stirred unease among technocrats and politicians alike