Emergencies in Kampala

Good to Know

• The number 999 works from landlines/UTL lines, while 112 is the go-to number from a mobile phone — locals default to 112 since almost everyone is on mobile.
• For Kampala specifically, the Central Police Station (CPS) Kampala toll-free line (0800122291) is the most relevant local police contact rather than a generic national line.
• Response times for police/ambulance can be slow and inconsistent; many expats and nomads in Kampala keep the direct number of a private hospital (e.g. International Hospital Kampala, Nakasero Hospital) or a private ambulance service on hand as a faster backup to the national emergency line.
• The official UPF MOBI police app exists but has a history of technical bugs reported by users (crashes, broken location search) — treat it as a secondary tool, not a sole reliance point in a real emergency.
• For serious trauma, Mulago National Referral Hospital is the country's main public trauma center, but it is heavily resourced-constrained; most expats and nomads default to a private hospital (IHK/C-Care, Case Medical Centre, Nakasero Hospital) for initial emergency stabilization when possible.
• Ambulance response in Kampala is not reliable for fast transport — a private car, taxi, or ride-hail is frequently faster than waiting for an ambulance in an emergency.
• Road traffic crashes are the single biggest cause of serious trauma in the city, so exercise real caution around traffic and especially boda-boda motorcycle taxis.
• Comprehensive travel/medical insurance with an evacuation clause is strongly advisable — for anything beyond routine care, both cost and equipment availability can be limiting factors even at the top private hospitals.