Aponye’s vehicle rammed into a stationary truck. Unconfirmed reports indicate the broken-down truck had been in that spot along the Ntungamo- Mbarara road for a few days. There were, reportedly, no warning signs to signal to other road users about this lurking truck.
In a macabre twist, Aponye and his entourage were heading to the burial of another road accident victim. As day follows night, the ghastly pictures of the bloodied deceased on the ground alongside his mangled car trended on social media.
Days later, on July 8, another road accident had our fickle attention. Former parliamentarian, Angiro Gutomoi Abac Acon, and four others died when their vehicle overturned. This was not his first brush with road accidents. Chimp Reports stated that Gutomoi was previously involved in an accident in 2018 when his vehicle collided with a lorry.
As is our local custom in identifying with the bereaved, choruses of “kitalo nnyo” poured out. Kitalo nnyo, a Luganda phrase, allows us to identify with the desolation of the bereaved. We take refuge in kitalo nnyo for therein, our furtive whispered questions and murmurs can wait politely.
It is simply astounding that Ugandans continue to die in preventable circumstances. The carnage on our roads is an open festering wound buzzing with harrowing statistics. News of road accidents is never far from our headlines – week to week, we stumble into more and more road carnage. Kitalo nnyo!
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 90 per cent of road traffic deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, with injury death rates being highest in Africa and lowest in Europe. In April 2023, the Daily Monitor reported that 200 people had died in just two weeks in road crashes – of which 37 died in three days during the Easter period.
Uganda’s track record on road safety is a bloody gory mess that has worsened over the years. As roads are the largest medium of travel, we are truly living dangerously anytime we get onto our roads. Our primary school teachers constantly chorused at us that ‘prevention is better than cure’- yet here we are, cupping our chins in our hands and mouthing kitalo nnyo.
Yet, WHO categorically states in the 2018 Global Status Report on Road Safety, ‘… road ‘accidents.’ They are completely preventable.”
Beyond kitalo nyo is Uganda’s lead agency on road safety – the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), under the ministry of Works and Transport. NRSC produced the first-ever National Road Safety Action Plan (NRSAP) 2021/22-2025/26 that aims to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 25 per cent by 2026. The plan is premised on five key areas: Road Safety Management, Safe Road Infrastructure, Vehicle Safety, Safe Road Use and Post-Crash Response.
The plan notes that there is a ‘culture of impunity’ on our roads. It highlights the following as the ingredients of the killer impunity governing our roads: “a) weak enforcement of traffic laws and regulations, which has compromised adherence to traffic rules. b) Uganda’s road infrastructure is generally unsafe. Most of the roads are single carriageway without a median, many with steep shoulders and with few opportunities for safely overtaking, resulting in many head-on collisions. Most roads lack facilities for non-motorised users.
Additionally, there is inadequate land-use planning, with numerous examples of unsafe access to the highway. c) Driving standards in Uganda do not meet internationally accepted standards. d) Vehicles lack routine mandatory inspections for roadworthiness. e) Motorcycle riders commonly referred to as boda-bodas exhibit bad behaviour on the roads.”
Disturbingly, none of those ingredients is breaking news. The plan further notes that human factors are the leading contributor at 92 per cent of fatal road accidents. The two main human factors whittle down to reckless driving and careless driving.
Launched in 2022, it is too early to spit on the plan; so, we hope against hope. In 2011, the ruling party manifesto promised to tackle road safety. Thus, the government planned to replace the NRSC with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA).
In 2018, Daily Monitor was quite pessimistic – stressing that the NRSA is yet to come into existence. Perhaps when we are done with kitalo nnyo, we might question why existing frameworks are not up to the task of road safety. As a breather from repetitive kitalo nnyo in this article and on our roads – here is a phenomenal story about a city that dared to do something about the lives of its citizens.
In 2019, the city of Oslo in Norway announced a peculiar achievement. In 2019, Oslo recorded only one pedestrian death due to road accidents. Only ONE. A most peculiar achievement – that the standard of safety and responsibility can be that high.
Minister Katumba Wamala emphasizes in the plan, “ROAD SAFETY IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.” Therafa, let your kitalo nnyo cause you to do your bit for road safety in your vicinity.
The writer is a tayaad muzzukulu.
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