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Taxi drivers strike against taxation

Old taxi park in Kampala. Photo: sarahemcc | CC BY 2.0

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En bref

To protest continued harassment and exorbitant illegal charges by tax collectors, taxi drivers and conductors throughout Kampala parked their vehicles and stopped working.

In Kampala, the transportation system relies heavily on the work of taxi drivers and conductors, since there is no other means of transportation apart from the matatus (vans), boda bodas (motorcycles), and a few buses.

In July 2011, drivers and conductors decide to stop working, parking their vehicles to show dissatisfaction against harassment, exorbitant charges for illegal loading, and exaggerated fees from the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association. The striking drivers wanted the government to abolish harassment and the abusive collection of taxes, so they struck, effectively putting the government in a decision dilemma.

With almost no means of transportation available, people were forced to walk to their places of work, or had to pay three times the ordinary fares for the taxis whose operators decided not to take part in the strike. Some schools and companies were closed. Due to the lack of transport, the police arrested drivers, so instead of bringing a solution, the arrests intensified the problem at hand. Public discontent was widespread, and eventually this discontent forced the government to remove the oppressive taxes and release the drivers who had been arrested.

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