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Almost a year later, Ndagire stood at the start line of the 2025 Joe Walker remembrance walk accompanied by a group of people who shared a part of Oscar’s life, each determined to walk 10 kilometres to honour and remember his life.

The team comprised Tarzan Mazinga, Jude Muhindi, Sheila Karungi, Bertha Tendo, Paul Mukama, William Mutebe and Ndagire, and went by the name Team Oscar.

“I felt emotional the moment I heard about the walk,” Ndagire recalled. “It was a bold step for me because I have spent a year avoiding the memories and the pain that came with them. But I felt this was a safe day to remember him. Oscar would have wanted me to be there.”

For Ndagire, this walk was more than a physical journey. It was a return to herself. Therapy after Oscar’s death had forced her to confront her grief both physically and mentally. Walking again for a cause that mirrored her own healing felt like revisiting those steps.

“At one point during the walk, my feet began to ache,” she said. “But then I remembered his words: ‘You cannot understand what feeling better means if you do not go through pain.’ He moved with me throughout that entire walk.”

The walk also brought reminders of the life they shared. Every street in Kampala held memories of jogging together, of early-morning workouts, of his laughter and energy.

“On the hills he would jog backward,” she smiled through tears. “As tired as he was, he would always be smiling. So we kept asking ourselves, What would Oscar do? And we kept going.”

For Paul Mukama, a close friend and workmate of late Oscar, the walk was a chance to speak up for the people behind the numbers.

“In Uganda, we hear that 14 people die in crashes every day,” he said. “But every one of those numbers is a story. Oscar is one of them. He was my friend, extremely talented, creative, and full of ideas. When he died, all our projects stopped. It was painful.”

“There were stretches where I was alone, especially around Lugogo,” Mukama recalled. “You feel the weight of the loss. But you also feel the importance of remembering.”

Team Oscar was small but united and included family, former workmates and close friends who had experienced Oscar’s brilliance firsthand.

“He was my brother-in-law and more than a brother. The mere thought of walking in his memory was inspiring, ” Mazinga shared.

The walk brought back simple and intimate memories. “The workout routines,” he laughed. “Oscar used to encourage my sister, Ndagire, to stay physically fit. Seeing people walk on those hills reminded me of him instantly.”

Losing Oscar changed the team’s view of safety forever.

Mukama describes himself as “a slow driver by choice,” now more conscious of avoidable errors on the road such as speeding in busy areas, using phones while driving, reckless overtaking.

“Many road crashes are avoidable. Personal responsibility is the best way to honour those we have lost, ” he said.

Mazinga echoes that sentiment. He avoids reckless Boda Bodas, warns others on the road, and hopes for improved safety on the Northern Bypass where Oscar died.

For the team, the remembrance walk was not a one-day event. It was a commitment.

“We want to keep coming to keep Oscar’s memory alive. To honour him by supporting road safety, ” Mukama said.

Ndagire hopes the country will remember not just the statistics, but the people behind them.

“I pray that when we talk about victims, we do not just count numbers. We should mention their names, honour their families and celebrate their lives,” she shared.

Ndagire dreams of a future where faces of road-crash victims appear on billboards, where their stories spark change and their absence leads to safer roads for others.

When Team Oscar reached the finish line, they felt something shift inside them.

“We literally felt like we were doing this for him and with him. Every step mattered, ” Ndagire mentioned.