Govt sets up probe committee into Rajiv Ruparelia fatal crash

________________

The Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Katumba Wamala, on Monday announced that the Government has launched an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the death of Rajiv Ruparelia, the managing director of the Ruparelia Group of Companies, who died after his vehicle hit barriers at the Busabala flyover on the Munyonyo Southern Bypass.

Rajiv, son of tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia, died at the scene following the 1:54 am incident on Saturday involving his favourite Nissan GTR motor vehicle, registration number UAT 638L, which was travelling from Kajjansi towards Munyonyo.

“On behalf of the Ministry, we want to pass on condolences and join the family of Sudhir Ruparelia and the whole country in mourning Rajiv, a very young enterprising person who died in the wee hours of Saturday’s crash. Of course, the death of a child to a parent is very devastating. Some of us have gone through this, and we can tell it is a very devastating situation for a parent to look into the grave of a child. It is very touching,” Katumba said.

The acting permanant Secretary for the Ministry of Works and Transport, Eng Isaac Wani (left) explains as the Minister for Works and Transport, Gen Katumba Wamala looks on during a press conference. (Photo by Ronnie Kijjambu)

He criticised some members of the public who had taken to social media to make insensitive remarks.

“I found it very immoral that when the country is mourning, some of our ‘good Ugandans’ have decided to take to X (formerly Twitter) and all those social media avenues to send messages that are very hurting and also unnecessary and don’t show any compassion. I would request that we desist from that. Let the family mourn their departed and let us also be morally upright as a state that we don’t add salt to injury,” he said.

Gen. Katumba refrained from going into details, stating the matter was under investigation. “The investigations will be carried out by the institutions responsible to establish more than just the cause of death and the issues prior to and during that incident.”

He said he had been compelled to address the media due to public demand for clarity not only on the incident but also on the general state of road infrastructure and safety in Uganda.

The minister urged media houses not to speculate. “Let the investigations team come out with a detailed investigation report. Sometimes, when you report prematurely, you create an impression that that is the direction, and if the investigation says otherwise, retrieving that becomes a problem.”

He clarified that the Munyonyo Spur stretch is not part of the Entebbe Expressway. “Munyonyo Spur is not an expressway, and that is why you find there are traffic lights and speed limits, which indicate the speed. The expressway is from Busega to Mpala,” he said.

His remarks come amid public criticism, with calls for the Ministry of Works and Transport to be held accountable over the accident. Critics claim the Ministry failed to remove the barriers placed on the road, which residents have described as a death trap. According to locals, the Busabala spot has recorded eight crashes in the past two months.

National Resistance Movement (NRM) vice chairperson for eastern region, Capt. Mike Mukula accused authorities of negligence.

“The fatal expressway accident that claimed the life of Rajiv and many others is an unforgivable tragedy. It exposes gross negligence in road construction management. Whoever placed those barriers without proper signage or warning must be held criminally liable. This includes individuals, contractors, and supervising authorities. We demand a full investigation and immediate criminal charges for culpable homicide, abuse of office, and reckless endangerment. This is not an isolated case. Roads under construction across Kampala and Uganda lack basic safety compliance—no signage, lighting, or protective barriers. Enough is enough,” Mukula said.

He demanded “an immediate audit of all road construction zones in Uganda; mandatory compliance with international road safety standards; arrest and prosecution of negligent officials and contractors; and a national road safety task force to monitor and enforce safety protocols.”

He added, “Human life must never be the cost of corruption or incompetence. We stand with the Ruparelia family and all victims. This injustice will not be ignored.”

Gen. Katumba said the investigation team would issue a detailed report and that any blame would be apportioned accordingly.

He confirmed that the LC 1 chairperson of Busabala had briefed him about the frequent crashes at the spot and that he had visited the area.

“I visited that place, and the LC1 Chairman’s complaint was about the bodabodas going to Busabala. His complaint was we removed the roundabout and these bodabodas, as they are crossing, are crushed by vehicles from the main road. I was there myself. Even pedestrians could not cross very fast, and they were being hit by speeding vehicles either from the Kigo side or the Munyonyo side,” he said.

Gen. Katumba asked Eng Isaac Wani, the acting Commissioner for Roads, to explain why road construction projects take so long to complete.

Wani said once a contractor gets on site, the first step is clearing the right of way by removing trees and grass. The next stage involves excavation and removal of loose material, followed by surface preparation and compaction before introducing the sub-grade.

“If that surface happens to be loose or swampy, the operations become different. You have to import hardcore material to prepare the foundation,” Wani explained.

A man standing at spot at Busabala Flyover along Munyonyo-Kajjansi Expressway where Rajiv Ruparelia car crashed killing him in the early hours of Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Photo by Benjamin Ssemwanga)

He said once the surface is tested and meets the required standards, work progresses to laying the sub-base with murram, then to the base layer made of crushed rock aggregate, which is compacted.

After that, the contractor prepares and applies asphalt, concrete, or double surface dressing.

“The process cannot be done in one week,” Wani stressed.

He also cited delayed payments to contractors as a challenge, revealing that the contractor on the Busabala road project—China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC)—suspended work in August last year due to a sh43 billion payment delay.

Wani confirmed that the ministry had reopened some of the sections that had been closed during the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit and Heads of State meeting in January.

“It is those events that some people were exaggerating—that we opened the sections and then placed the barriers in the evening,” he said.

Rajiv will be cremated at the Hindu Crematorium in Lugogo on Tuesday.