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...
Participants brave rain to complete 60km Remembrance Walk
By David Mujuni Participants in the Joe Walker Remembrance Road Safety Walk defied many odds on Sunday November 19th, when they completed the 60-kilometre walk aimed at honouring road crash victims. The walkers converged as early as 5:30am at UMA, Lugogo in Kampala ahead of the memorable relay walk spearheaded by road safety advocate Joseph Beyanga commonly known as Joe Walker. Fired up for the task, several teams composed of six people fronted their starting members who were given batons that they held onto for 10 kilometres before handing them over to the next teammate. The first group hit the road at about...
We are walking for a good cause – Participants share highlights of the 60km Remembrance walk
By David Mujuni Despite the Sunday morning rain that started at about 8am, a number of participants were able to complete their 10km task each in the Joe Walker 60km Remembrance Road Safety Walk. There were cases where some walkers covered over 20km after some of their teammates failed to make it. According to the plan, each six-member team was supposed to cover 60km with each participant walking 10km in an activity that started at 6am at UMA, Lugogo in Kampala. We talked to a number of participants who shared their experiences with us. Hosea Wasswa, who was the first walker from Team...
Remembrance Walk off to a good start
By Carol Alyek Beyanga By 5.30am, participants had gathered at UMA Showgrounds ready to take part in the Joe Walker Remembrance Walk. Teammates were ready, swapping ideas, doing last minute stretches and warm-up exercises. Before setting off, Joseph Beyanga, aka Joe Walker, reminded the walkers about the importance of road safety and the main reason they were walking. "Each of us knows someone who has been in an accident. For many who got injured, they cannot be with us. For the 4,534 who passed on last year, they can never be with us," Joe Walker stated solemnly, reminding the teams to enjoy...