Leaders of the Federation of Uganda Taxi Operators (UTOF) are in sharp fight over union oil, Spiro motorcycles and Tondeka bus company tycoon Fred Ssenoga’s multi billion China deal.
Ono Bwino can exclusively report that last month, Ssenoga confirmed to taxi drivers’ top leadership that preparation for their benchmarking study in China is done and everything is ready for their travel.
“Ssenoga is only going to facilitate everything for only 20 people but those who want to travel are more than 100 people. Now the problem is that the top leaders are facing a selection headache because alot of people want to join them on the trip”, a source said.
Sources said that Rashid Ssekindi the UTOF national chairperson and his vice Mustafah Mayambala are under pressure because other executive members are insisting that only one of them should go and some spots reserved for regional leaders of the association.
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Regional leaders claim that Ssekindi and Mayambala have been travelling frequently. They gave an example of the January benchmarking trip to United Arab Emirates which was also funded by Ssegona when they went with bodaboda top leaders.
They divulged that this is why they are insisting this time that the opportunity should be given to other leaders.
Ssekindi who has just returned from the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia insisted that since the trip is about benchmarking, top leaders who are going to engage other stakeholders who are ready to implement what they will learn from China should be the ones to travel.
China benchmarking is another step towards stakeholders ongoing process of phasing out commuter taxi operations in Kampala city and the metropolitan which has already started being implemented before the end of June 2026.
Ono Bwino online has learnt that UTOF sealed a deal with Ssenoga to guide them together with the government on executing their plan of modernizing the transport business in the city and the surrounding areas.
Because of the deal, Ssenoga was allowed to open his union oil and spiro offices at all UTOF and bodaboda headquarters and regional offices to support each other business.
The appointment of Fred Byamukama as a senior minister of works and transport has also scared taxi drivers and leaders because he has been advocating for the removal of communal taxis from the city centres and surrounding metropolitan areas.
The development comes on the heels of Byamukama’s recent revelation that President Museveni’s government is planning to take over the transport business in Kampala and they will start by phasing out commuter taxis.
Taxi drivers who Ono Bwino talked to are very scared that the move is likely to leave them jobless.
They added that they don’t have money to invest in buying buses and Ssenoga is likely to bring his Tondeka drivers to operate the buses which their leaders are bringing.
However, Ssekindi insisted that the deal is for the good of the transport business in the country noting that many countries have phased out the use of commuter taxis.
