River Mucha Bridge Collapse Disrupts Access to Bwindi in Kisoro

What the report says

Motorists heading to the Rushaga and Nkuringo sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Kisoro are facing longer trips after River Mucha Bridge collapsed, cutting off a key crossing on the route from Kisoro town. The Nile Post reported that the Ministry of Works and Transport issued a travel advisory on Saturday, October 10, saying the bridge was impassable and that a government technical team had started emergency intervention.

Travellers to the gorilla-tracking areas have been directed to use an alternative road through Kisoro–Karengyere–Nyanamo–Rubuguri–Rushaga–Nkuringo. The ministry said the diversion is still motorable but warned that the journey may take an extra 30 to 45 minutes, especially in rainy conditions, and advised drivers to leave early and proceed carefully. The disruption affects both tourists and local residents who rely on the route for movement to markets, services and tourism businesses.

The collapse has renewed concern about the vulnerability of roads and bridges in Kisoro’s mountainous terrain, where heavy rain has repeatedly caused flooding, mudslides and infrastructure damage. The article places this latest incident within a wider pattern of transport disruptions in the district, including earlier weather-related road damage and delays on other road upgrade projects in the Kigezi sub-region. The issue matters because access to Bwindi is important for tourism revenue and for day-to-day economic activity in the surrounding communities.