Joe Walker launches 2025 60km Remembrance Relay Walk
Joe Walker and friends launched the 2025 Remembrance Relay Walk, calling for stronger road safety enforcement and collective action to reduce Uganda’s alarming rate of road crashes. The launch took place at Mulago National Referral Hospital, where the Joe Walker team also donated wheelchairs, crutches, and other essential supplies to victims of road accidents.
The Remembrance Relay, set for Saturday, 15th November 2025, will cover 60 kilometres under the theme “Walking to Remember, Walking for Safe Roads.” The symbolic walk will start and end at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, bringing together individuals, corporate teams, and community groups to honor lives lost in road crashes while raising awareness about safer road use.
According to the Uganda Police Annual Crime and Traffic Report (2024), the country loses an average of 14 people every day to road crashes, with many more left injured or permanently disabled. These grim statistics underline what Joe Walker, described as a preventable public health crisis caused by weak enforcement, reckless driving, and non-compliance with traffic laws.
“Last year alone, 5,144 people were killed. They did not just die they were killed on their way somewhere. These are not numbers; they are families and futures cut short,” Beyanga said during the launch, urging authorities to reinstate automated speed enforcement systems.
The Joe Walker team’s visit to Mulago Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department provided firsthand insight into the devastating toll of road crashes. Dr. Joseph Mubiru, head of orthopedic services at Mulago, revealed that the hospital receives over 800 trauma cases each month, with 60 percent linked to road crashes, the majority involving boda-boda riders. Treating a single critically injured patient, he noted, costs approximately UGX 3.5 million per day, a burden that often leaves families financially and emotionally drained.
“We are losing Uganda’s most productive age group those between 18 and 45 years,” Dr. Mubiru said, applauding Joe Walker’s efforts to raise awareness and mobilize support for victims.
The Remembrance Relay Walk will feature teams of six people, each walking 10 kilometres, or groups of three covering 20 kilometres, symbolizing unity and shared responsibility. Each participant’s segment represents a link in a national chain of remembrance, passing the baton of road safety awareness from one teammate to the next.
Participation in the walk is completely free, but teams and individuals are encouraged to make a voluntary contribution of UGX 20,000, which will go toward purchasing basic care materials for crash victims admitted at Mulago Hospital.
At the launch, Judith Karara, Senior Road Safety Officer at the Ministry of Works and Transport, praised the initiative and reaffirmed the government’s support for collaborative awareness efforts. She noted that while infrastructure improvements continue, road user behavior remains a major cause of crashes, calling on the public to use the existing road network responsibly.
Speaking on behalf of the organizing team, Beyanga emphasized that the relay format was chosen to reflect the essence of collective action. “The baton symbolizes shared responsibility. Road safety is not for one person or institution it’s for all of us. Safe roads save lives,” he said.
The Joe Walker Remembrance Relay 2025 invites individuals, companies, schools, and friends to register their teams and take part in this national movement. The walk will begin at 6a.m. at Sheraton Kampala Hotel, with participants encouraged to dedicate their walk to someone affected by a road crash.
