MP Kwizera Urges Government to Deploy Helicopters After River Mucha Bridge Collapse

What the report says

Bukimbiri County MP Eddie Kwizera Wagahungu has urged the Ugandan government to deploy police and UPDF helicopters to move residents and tourists between Kisoro Municipality and Bukimbiri County after the collapse of River Mucha Bridge. According to Nile Post, he raised the issue in Parliament as a matter of national importance, saying the loss of the bridge has intensified transport problems in the area.

Kwizera said the deteriorating Karengyere–Nyanamo–Rubuguri–Rushaga–Nkuringo road is now the main alternative route after the Kisoro–Bukimbiri road was cut off, but that road is also in poor condition. He warned that the disruption is affecting local communities and tourism, especially access to the gorilla-tracking areas of Rushaga and Nkuringo, which rely on road travel through the affected corridor.

He asked Parliament to press the Ministry of Works and Transport and relevant security agencies to consider air transport for emergency movement while a longer-term fix is developed. Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth directed Minister of State for Transport Julius Maganda Wandera to respond. Wandera acknowledged the difficulties and said government would pursue a temporary bridge while engineers work on plans for a permanent one.

The report said the minister did not confirm whether helicopters would actually be deployed. The issue is significant because the Kisoro area depends on road links for daily movement and tourism revenue, and any prolonged disruption could affect both local livelihoods and visitors to one of Uganda’s key wildlife destinations.