KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport has announced the suspension of its new Automated Express Penalty System (EPS Auto). This decision follows a “comprehensive review” of the system, which was designed to enforce recently updated traffic regulations.
The suspension takes effect at midnight tonight, with Minister Gen. Katumba Wamala scheduled to provide further details in a press briefing on Thursday morning.
In its official statement, the Ministry urged, “In the meantime, we urge all road users to continue driving responsibly and observing traffic rules.”
The suspended regulations, known as the Traffic & Road Safety (Speed Limit) Regulations 2024, were publicly introduced and gazetted in February.
These new rules drastically reduced speed limits in redefined “urban centers” and significantly increased maximum penalties.
Previously set at UGX 200,000, fines for exceeding the speed limit could now reach up to UGX 600,000.
When the regulations were initially introduced in April, the Ministry clarified the impact of the new penalties: “So if you’re flying at 100 km/h on Northern Bypass (limit: 70 km/h) or above 60 km/h on Lugogo Bypass (limit: 30 km/h)… that’s 30 currency points out of your wallet—not the old 10! Let’s keep the roads safe—and your money where it belongs.”
Signed by Minister of Works and Transport Gen. Katumba Wamala late last year, these regulations notably reduced speed limits in urban areas from 50 km/h to 30 km/h.
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They also redefined “urban areas” to include all roads adjacent to schools, churches, hospitals, markets, or business centers experiencing high human or vehicular interaction, with a new 30 km/h limit in these specific zones. This categorization was a new introduction.
Furthermore, speed limits for all major highways with single carriageways were lowered to below 100 km/hr, leaving only dual carriageways with a maximum speed limit of 100 km/hr.
An official at the Ministry of Works explained the rationale behind the changes: “The changes also come on a backdrop that the previous regulations did not provide for specific traffic speed limits for specific zones, especially busy centers, thereby exposing pedestrian traffic to accident risks.”
The last revisions to Uganda’s speed laws occurred two decades ago with the Uganda’s Speed Limit Regulations 2004, which superseded those from 1972.
