A bus driver who was filmed texting while driving has been brought before a court and charged with the offense of using a mobile phone while operating a vehicle.
Andrew Jjemba entered a plea of not guilty during the proceedings at the LDC court, presided over by Grade One Magistrate Martins Kirya. Following his plea, he applied for bail.
The court ruled that Jjemba be granted bail, setting a cash bail of Shs500,000, with each of his sureties being bonded for Shs1 million. The case was adjourned until November 22.
According to the prosecution, led by Mr. Timothy Eduti, Jjemba committed the offense on October 31 at approximately 10:00 AM in Namungoona, Rubaga Division, along Hoima Road. He was operating a bus owned by Link Bus Services at the time.
The court was informed that investigations into the incident are still ongoing.
In response to the viral video that captured Jjemba texting while driving, the bus company issued a statement on Wednesday. The company acknowledged that the video, taken by a passenger on one of their buses traveling the Kampala-Fort Portal-Kasese route, had come to their attention.
Mr. Tom Best Aliinde, the bus company’s public relations manager, stated, “We learned of the viral video this morning from social media, and our human resource office immediately swung into action to investigate the matter. Following preliminary investigations, Andrew has been suspended from duty with immediate effect. We condemn in the strongest terms possible the individual action by the particular driver who had just in a space of less than two months gone through our annual refresher training.”
