PIC: It was back to business as usual for traffic officer Nakandi a day after she was hit by a runaway motorcyclist while on duty. (Credit: Badru Katumba)
KAMPALA - Cpl. Nnalongo Alice Nakandi has been guiding traffic for over a decade now.
Ugandans have described her as a “dedicated” and “committed” cop, who exudes a rare trait of professionalism whenever she is confronted by the always bossy Ugandan road users that share a general characteristic of bad driving skills.
Yet despite her commitment, Nakandi had never been appreciated so generously by road users until she jumped from the jaws of death Wednesday this week.
As she guided traffic along Bugolobi junction, a boda boda rider knocked her down. But a few minutes later, Nakandi was up, ready to resume her task.
Henry Chemba, a road user, captured the moment and took to social media to share the photo of the traffic police officer, whose white uniform had been soiled.
“A fake boda boda rider knocked down this hardworking lady cop. She fell down and stood up slowly through pain, but remained calm at work and didn’t leave her work place," he posted on his Facebook wall.
Chemba’s photo has since gone viral, drawing thousands of comments.
Most of the feedback is calling for the Police leadership to reward the mother of twins for her exceptional resolve to serve her country in the face of pain and near-death.
The picture taken by Henry Chemba, showing Nakandi in her stained uniform following the incident, has since gone viral
In March this year, Cpl. Wilfred Tweituk, a traffic officer attached to Old Kampala Police Station, was knocked dead by a bus owned by Devine Bus Company, along Kabaka Njagala-Nabunya junction in Rubaga, Kampala.
However, Nakandi, who is attached to Jinja Road Police Station, was lucky.
The day after the episode, she was upbeat and seemingly unbothered by the events despite the fact that some Ugandans were demanding that Police takes her to hospital for a check-up.
For her, life has to continue. Meanwhile, the runaway motorcyclist remains just that - at large.
New Vision found Nakandi going about her work in Bugolobi a day after she was hit
Her duty station normally has heavy traffic for most part of the day
Nakandi 'calm and hardworking'
On Thursday, Nakandi declined press interview requests, saying she needs express permission from her boss, Louis Kalenzi, the Officer-in-charge of traffic at Jinja Road Police Station.
“I can’t speak to the media. You need to get a letter from my boss, the OC traffic at Jinja Road Police Station authorising me to speak to you,” she said during a brief chat at her Bugolobi station.
When New Vision sought out Kalenzi for comment on Friday, he described Nakandi as “a hardworking lady” who takes her work seriously.
“She works without any supervision. She is calm and conducts her work with extreme patience. She is a great officer,” he said.
Replying to a Twitter post by user Hellen Mukiibi, the Police’s political commissar, Asan Kasingye, said the issue of a reward for Nakandi will be handled by authorities.
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In addition to the motor-vehicle fumes and all the dangers of her work one of these lady traffic officer said that she would never allow her daughter to join the police to do her work. She wishes her daughters to study hard and get a much more better job than hers. Indeed technology which Kampala, as an International city can afford, has removed traffic officers from such Drudgery Jobs.
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