Fuel truck catches fire in Nebbi, many escape death

By Mike Rwothomio

The community of the Jupangira sub-county in Nebbi district has raised concerns over snaking queues of dangerous petroleum trucks that take long to be cleared yet it’s posing risks to their lives. #WhisperEyeNews

This is after an mv with registration NO KBF 651U /ZG  9722 a fuel tank with 32,000 liters of fuel destined for Bunia in DRC got a short circuit and caught fire yesterday and was put off by the locals.

The DPC of Nebbi  SP Aminsi Kayondo who in a statement said no one was harmed attributed the incident to faults in the wiring of the truck self which caused sparks and later fire that was quickly put off.

“In the morning of 28/05/2023 at around 10:30 am MV NO. KBF 651U /ZG 9722 a fuel tank loaded with 32,000 liters of fuel destined for Bunia in DRC, was being driven by Mohamed Amhed Male adult aged 32, a Kenyan, got short circuit and caught fire on the trailer head while parking when he and the turn man had gone for clearance at the office. It was suspected to have been caused by faults in the wing of the self, this caused sparks and later fire” SP Kayondo said in a statement before adding that the truck that left no damage  had been cleared.

The LC 1 chairperson of Goli Boma East village Jupangira parish Jupangira sub county Abok Kayomba notes that many of his people are leaving in a panic mode adding that an incident of fire out break has been frequently taking place in the area without any intervention.

“Authorities should do something about this, yesterday all of us would have died, many people ran for safety but we managed to put off the fire. Danger petroleum trucks are taking weeks to be cleared, the road alone is too narrow yet nothing has been done on it for years” Abok told the Whisper Eye News.

Another resident blames the customs officials for delaying the clearance of trucks for their own motives.

“The problem with these customs officials is that they take longer to clear the trucks.We know these people are having their own motives here but they should know that this is posing risks to our lives” He explained

Severally, the community has been complaining of corruption and the high-handedness of some of the customs staff at Goli border customs.

In 2021, at Goli Customs, millions of properties were destroyed and many people got injured after around three dangerous petroleum trucks caught fire in which all the affected residents up to today are still waiting for their compensation.

The LC 3 chairperson of Jupangira sub county Sunday Ogenmungu acknowledged the concerns raised before appealing for calm amongst the locals.

“Yesterday a petroleum truck caught fire but was rescued, we call for calm since an engagement meeting has been scheduled to discuss the matter which I believe the community will turn up to attend,” Ogenmungu said.

Goli border customs is currently the major transit route for dangerous petroleum trucks destined for DRC. However as it stands now, hundreds of trucks line up for nearly a week as it awaits clearance from the customs officials.

When contacted about the snaking queues of dangerous petroleum trucks at Goli border customs in the Nebbi district. 

The URA regional charge Silvester Kiwanuka confirmed that the backlog is a result of some technical glitch that their technical team is working around the clock to fix.

“We had issues with the system and data was not transmitting. When the trucks arrive there, it’s not the officials that clear them, it’s sent to the portal which is cleared in Kampala. Now the system breakdown is being sorted to clear them  faster.” Kiwanuka said.

There is going to be an engagement meeting with the community within this week to forge a way  forward  according to Sunday Ogenmungu the LC3 chairperson of Jupangira sub county.

Hundreds of trucks are cleared at Goli border customs in the Nebbi district on a daily basis.