Last week, Uganda witnessed a tragic surge in road accidents resulting in the loss of 79 lives and leaving 288 others injured, according to Uganda Police reports.
Michael Kananura, the traffic police spokesperson, revealed that the majority of the victims were either motorcycle riders or pedestrians. Out of the 79 fatalities, 29 were motorcyclists, 23 were pedestrians, and nine were passengers on motorcycles or involved in crashes with other vehicles.
Kananura attributed most of the accidents to careless overtaking and speeding, emphasizing the urgent need for heightened caution on the roads. Among the tragic incidents was the famous death of lawyer Raphael Okiot, who perished at Nkumba traffic lights when a truck carrying concrete collapsed onto his vehicle as he was enroute to represent clients in court.
Swift action from law enforcement led to the apprehension of the truck driver, who attempted to flee the scene. Preliminary investigations indicated that the concrete truck was in a perilous mechanical condition.
In response to concerns about accidents caused by vehicles in unsafe mechanical conditions, Waiswa Bageya, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT), assured the public that steps are being taken to mitigate such incidents.
Bageya revealed that compensation to SGS, the company responsible for vehicle inspections, has reached 30 per cent of the required Shs 209 billion. SGS terminated its contract with the government following parliamentary scrutiny, despite having already established six vehicle inspection centres.
The government aims to take ownership of these centres once full compensation to SGS is secured. In addition to the Nkumba crash, which claimed the life of Okiot, a Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Major, Habibu Zamba, also lost his life in a Mabira forest accident after attempting to overtake three vehicles.
Kananura urged all road users to exercise extreme caution, whether walking, riding, or driving, emphasizing the importance of road safety for all.
The recently released Uganda Police Force Annual Crime Report 2023 continued to paint a grim picture of the state of affairs on our roads. According to the report released by then, now retired Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martins Okoțh-Ochola in Kampala earlier on in February, the number of reported incidents of road crashes increased by 16 per cent, from 20,394 in 2022 to 23,608 in 2023. Out of the total crashes reported last year, 4,179 were fatal, 12,487 serious and 6,942 were minor.
The big question that however remain, as all this is in play is what measures is government yet to implement to curb these ever rising numbers.
