REPORT: Kampala to Mbale road safety walk 2023
More than 12 people are killed per day in road traffic crashes in Uganda, translating to more than 4,534 deaths annually. The majority of the victims are pedestrians and bodaboda riders. Traffic officers attribute many of these deaths and injuries to the careless road behaviour of riders, cyclists and drivers. These fatalities and injuries can be reduced greatly if awareness is constantly created and if the state of the roads are improved. This is why Joseph Beyanga aka Joe Walker, has been on a mission since 2018 to get the stakeholders involved, to play their part, using the Joe Walker and...
Kampala to Mbale walk: What we saw, heard and how to make our roads safer
The #JoeWalker Kampala to Mbale trek was a different challenge from what we had done earlier. It was a shorter route, but a rough road for half the journey, and had more reckless drivers and harsher weather conditions. It also had however, rich and insightful engagements. Pedestrians As we streamed out of Nakawa eastwards, we were embarking on a rough unfriendly road that would be our cup of tea for the next 125km till we got to Tirinyi Road. With more people walking than cars on the road, the experience of a pedestrian on most of our roads is still a nightmare....
The final legs: Teamwork and friendships will bring down strongholds
By Joe Walker We tried preparing for the walk both physically and mentally but nothing could have prepared us for the heat on Friday and Saturday. We had been lucky all the days before. It rained on day one as we approached Namawojjolo. It rained on day two as we got out of Mabira Forest and also as we entered Njeru. On the third day, the rain pushed us out of Magamaga, and on the fourth day we had a gentle cloud cover as pushed through Nakalama to Busembatia. From that point on however, all the sun’s fury descended on us...
Day Four: A good road with bad users
With tired legs and blisters we were nursing from Day Three, it was a slow start to the day. For the first time, all of us were not present at the agreed meeting time for breakfast and take-off at 6.30am. We eventually assembled, ate and were ready to take off 45 minutes late. By this time, we had covered almost half the distance of the whole journey. We rolled out of Iganga town and onto the highway going eastwards. 5km in, we branched off onto the Tirinyi highway heading towards Mbale. It’s a newly completed road, the driving surface is smooth...
Day Three: The changing face of the highway and what needs to be done
Moments before we entered Jinja on Day Two, I knew the stage was set for conversations. As we popped out of Lugazi sugar plantations, motorists who had been following our trek on radio started making brief stops to engage more on the issues, others to express their appreciation, and others to grab a selfie. At Njeru town we were welcomed by the team from Tugende and then a contingent from Jinja Boy Scouts Association. When we woke up on Wednesday, the same team from the Boy Scouts was waiting for us, ready to lead us to Jinja Senior Secondary School....
PICTORIAL: How Kampala-Mbale trek started
Road safety advocate Joseph Beyanga commonly known as Joe Walker, together with friends on Monday morning, kicked off the Kampala to Mbale road safety awareness trek under the theme “Too Young to Die”. The long-awaited walk was flagged off by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa in a function held at the Independence Monument in Kampala. Check out the pictorial below; ...
Day Two: Memories of the past informing what we need for the future
It threatened to be a long and brutal journey today with 45km plus to cover in such a short time. So we set off very early. By 5.55am we were out of the door and on the road. Our first brief stop-off for a cup of tea to warm us up was at Bannz Café where we met several people, including escorts of VIPs who said they were following the walk keenly. It made me hope that people are picking the message on road safety. Before we got there however, what struck me was seeing many parents along taking their children...
DAY ONE: High Energy and awesome time management
It was 5:15pm when we were done and docked at Namataba for the night. The weather was good and made it tempting to roll on but it would be suicide. Our advance team wouldn’t be able to find suitable and affordable accommodation 10km ahead and neither could we risk walking into the deep of the night through Mabira forest. The day started with awesomeness, something very rare of our government officials. At exactly 6:00am, the Deputy Speaker’s advance team was at the Independence Monument, the venue for the flag-off. At 6:15am, they announced that Rt. Hon. Tayebwa would be with us...
Joe Walker, friends kick off Kampala-Mbale trek
Road safety advocate Joseph Beyanga commonly known as Joe Walker, together with friends on Monday morning, kicked off the Kampala to Mbale road safety awareness trek under the theme “Too Young to Die”. The long-awaited walk was flagged off by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa in a function held at the Independence Monument in Kampala. While addressing the press before flagging Beyanga, Tayebwa lauded the group for keeping time before urging Ugandan drivers to be cautious on the road. Joe Walker and friends arrived at the monument at 6am ahead of the official flag-off at 6:30am. “I think one of the...
Deputy Speaker Tayebwa to flag off Kampala-Mbale walk
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa will on Monday, February 6, 2023, flag off the Kampala-Mbale road safety awareness walk at the Independence Monument in Kampala. Under the theme “Joe Walker and Friends – Too Young To Die”, the walk is spearheaded by Joseph Beyanga commonly known as Joe Walker, the Head of Radio at Nation Media Group – Uganda and Secretary-General, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). We believe the walk is more than just a walk due to the pool of activities lined up including road user sensitization and road safety education and awareness through, community interactions, school visits, media...
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