The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa has flagged off a group of walkers headed by journalist, Joseph Beyanga also known as Joe Walker for the 250km Kampala – Mbale trek to promote road safety.
The Kampala – Mbale trek is the second edition of the Joe Walker road safety awareness campaign in which the walkers are expected to paint Zebra crossings and make short stop overs in trading centres and towns to senstise communities about road safety in a bid to reduce road crashes that continue to claim the lives of Ugandans across the country.
While flagging off the walkers in Kampala on Monday, Tayebwa said issues of road safety are a matter to all Ugandans irrespective of the positions they hold in society.
“I want to thank our brother Joe Walker (Joseph Beyanga) for bringing these critical issues to the fore; issues of road safety matter to all of us. We all use the road; whether you are walking, driving, running, you are using the road. And everyday you are on the road, you don’t know what comes next. A car or a Bodaboda can come from anywhere and knock you. So, these are issues which can only be solved by our behavior. How we behave, how we take ourselves in the community, and how responsibly we live especially on the roads. Bringing to the fore is very important,” he said.
Road safety matters, Tayebwa said, should never be presumed that they are a responsibility of government alone, but rather, every individual on the road.
“It is issues where you can go to the hearts of people, and they know that each one of us is responsible, and must behave responsibly. We are losing very many young people [to road accidents]. They are the biggest victims,” he said.
Tayebwa noted that finding remedies to road carnage is everyone’s responsibility, including the high profile personalities.
The Deputy Speaker narrated his own account of how he lost a loved one (brother in-law) due to road carnage, saying it time the country wakes up on road safety matters.
According to police records, a total of 206 road crashes occurred during the festive season (23- 26 December 2022).
47 crashes were fatal, 95 were serious, and 64 were minor.
On December 19, the Serere County Member of Parliament Member, Patrick perished in car crash alongside his wife.
On December 30, 2022, news spread all over Uganda that three members of same family died on spot at Buloba along Kampala – Mityana road when a trailer rammed into the vehicle they were traveling in.
It later turned out that the victims were all members of the household of the retired Supreme Court Justice, Paul Mugamba.
Ulrich Mugamba, 31, Elly Mugamba, 23, and Tara Mugamba, 21 perished at Forest Park, Buloba along Kampala – Mityana road. They were returning from Fort Portal, Kabarole district where they spent their Christmas holiday.
The fourth occupant, Victoria Mugamba who is the only survivor of the nasty accident was rushed to the hospital fighting for her life.
“It (road carnage) affects all of us. We need all to be responsible. I want to thank Joe Walker and partners for highlighting such an issue,” Tayebwa said.
On the side of Parliament, the Deputy Speaker said, “it is a challenge to us that we must do whatever we can [to find solutions to the challenge].”
The Commissioner for Transport Regulation and Safety in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Winstone Katushabe added his voice on the calls from the public for Parliament to appropriate funds to issues that have anything to do with road safety.
“The issue of funding for road safety. We have been having this challenge. Parliament needs to fund road safety,” said Commissioner Katushabe.
In response, Tayebwa said this is long overdue.
“If it requires change in legislation, if it requires more funds, we have to do everything possible because we don’t know who the next victim will be,” he said.
A bigger percentage of road accidents are attributed to recklessness of drivers, and as a result, there has been calls for a legislation that drivers who drive recklessly and cause fatal accidents should be charged for murder.
Tayebwa sided with the proposal.
“Recently when I lost my brother in-law, the most painful moment was that the man who knocked him from behind first claimed that my brother in-law was the one who caused the accident, and they had given him bond at Police. But he came and confessed in Court. He was given three years [of jail term] for killing someone. This is real murder. You cannot call it reckless driving. This reckless driving has to be stopped,” Tayebwa said.
The Kampala – Mbale Joe Walker trek is timely because it has been flagged off on the day schools are reopening for first term of the year.