Day Eight: We’re almost there
The #JoeWalker team lifted off from Kiregesa Primary School where we camped for the night and we are now in Mahagwe, hopefully our last resting point before we dock at our destination. From Kiregesa as you descend down into the valley, you can’t avoid seeing the dangerous sharp corner and what looks like a bit of narrow road. Locals and doctors at Kyenjojo District hospital say many have lost their lives there. We trudged into Kyenjojo town, where we were welcomed by S3 students of Kyenjojo SS (they all reminded me of our daughter who is also in S3.) And we proceeded...
Day Seven: Joe Walker celebrates birthday, highlights road safety concerns
By Joe Walker Guys it’s day seven of the #JoeWalker Kampala to Fort Portal road safety awareness walk. We set off from Kyegegwa at 6:50am, and at 7:18pm, we were at our campsite, 47km from the start. The actual distance is 45km but I added an extra 2 special kilometers to make 47 to celebrate my 47th birthday. One of the things that stands out today on our Kyegegwa to Kiregesa walk is that drivers have made that Miryante stretch a black spot that needs serious attention because of the speeding, racing and reckless overtaking. The road markings have long faded, the signage...
Day Six: Joe Walker enters Tooro Kingdom
By Joe Walker It’s been one rollercoaster of a day. We entered Tooro Kingdom shortly after 11am. We were welcomed by Minister of Education in Tooro Kingdom Owek. Godfrey Rwembebera Adyeeri and other kingdom officials, plus the Kyegegwa OC Traffic Afande Kwasibwe. We were in Kyegegwa by 5pm. After all the protocols and mobilisation of logistics were done, at about 6pm we started painting the Zebra crossing. By 8pm, Kyegegwa had its only Zebra crossing; hopefully it will change the narrative around road safety. We had great support from Tooro Kingdom, Deputy Town Clerk Douglas Mugenyi, and the OC Traffic Police Kyegegwa and his...
Day Five: Joe Walker, friends reach Mubende
By Joe Walker With our eyes set on scaling 15km from Kyenda to Mubende before 9am, #JoeWalker Kampala to Fort Portal road safety awareness walk crew rolled the engines and hit the road at cruise control, at 6am. As the clouds started peeling off the skies for the sun to rise, we were halfway through our trek and Mubende right now is under our feet. We were set for engagements with boda boda riders, roadside market vendors, and then the municipality leaders. Our first stop today was in Mubende Municipality. Our first engagement was with the Market Vendors Association. Oh boy, it...
Day Four: No money is worth risking your life
By Joe Walker What a beautiful start to day four of the #JoeWalker Kampala to Fort Portal road safety awareness walk. We kicked off the day with an interactive session with the pupils of Kyakatebe Primary School. We taught the children the ABCs of road safety and armed them with a few tips to cross the roads safely and #GetHomeSafe. At 7:57am, it was our turn to put those tips into action as we hit the road heading towards Mubende. The first thing that hit me was the writing on a truck, “No Money is Enough”. It stayed with me as we...
A dive into day 3 of Kampala – Fort Portal trek
By Joe Walker Day three of the #JoeWalker Kampala to Fort Portal road safety awareness walk lifted off at Mityana at 7:26am where we headed to Kyakatebe. The weather has been merciful to us and so far every day, there has been some light rain which provides a good environment to walk in. We have so far been saved the heat that threatened to be present. We zoomed out of Mityana town to Naama. The road under construction is interesting; very wide with a fast double lane in the middle and two side lanes to serve town traffic, cyclists and pedestrians....
The difficult realities of walking on Kampala roads
By David Mujuni As the sun began to rise over our capital city Kampala, a group of determined walkers set out on a 60-kilometre journey. Yes, I know. For many this sounds crazy, but for these walkers, this was something they had eagerly been waiting for. The walk was not only for personal fitness and leisure but to honor the memory of road crash victims and raise awareness about road safety. While most teams wanted to top the relay, team The Panthers (David Mujuni, Doreen Nasasira, Becky Kategaya, Catherine Ageno, Collins Bareija aka Emeka, & Ronald Senvuma), set a goal of making...
Man honours departed brothers in 60km walk
By Belinda Birungi The drizzle and rain on November 19 rain didn't not stop participants like John Ssembogo from taking part in the Joe Walker Remembrance walk. Ssembogo, a member of Team Nkozi, walked the full 60km and he shares what drove him to do that. Tell us a little about who you are. My name is John Ssembogo, born and raised in Kyotera. I'm 29 years old and an Information Technology practitioner. Why did you join the walk? I joined the walk to particularly remember my deceased brothers and to represent the millions of people who lost their loved ones but couldn't make it...
“Walking is good for my mental health” – Anita Komukama
By Belinda Birungi The chilly November 19, morning dawned with the set- off of the participants of the Joe Walker 60km Remembrance Walk: In a bid to further re-echo the importance of road safety and to pay respects to the memory of thousands of Ugandans who lost their lives or got injuries in road accidents, the walk attracted a number of participants among whom was Anita Komukama who had a knee surgery and later emerged as the fastest female walker. A one-on-one with Ms Komukama, a member of the Twitter Running Community team gives us an insight in her journey leading to and...
How Team Kisoboka planned, executed and won
By David Mujuni Team Kisoboka emerged victorious in the 60km relay remembrance walk held on November 19th, 2023. The walk was spearheaded by road safety advocate Joe Walker to honour road crash victims. The winning team comprised six members; Hebert Kanyali aka KGB, Alex Hashaka (team leader), Kenneth Asiimwe, Carlos Pambara, Solomon Kobwemi, and Ritah Orikiriza. Two of the team members (Alex & Solomon) travelled from Masaka to Kampala at the crazy hour of 3am to ensure they arrived on time for the event, as Herbert Kanyali narrates. Planning “Right from the start, we selected our members by determining those that would be able...