The unprecedented spike in road crash deaths that rocked Uganda in 2022

Despite the country experiencing accidents throughout the years, 2022 was quite different as many of those that happened led to deaths.

Previously, mostly the festive season stood unrivalled in claiming the most number of lives on Ugandans roads but this time, the entire year saw a spike in crash deaths.

For example, in just 10 days between April, 24 and May, 4,  118 people were killed in road crashes and of these, 28 died on the same day on May, 4 after a Link bus crashed in Fort Portal while heading back to Kampala as well as another accident involving three vehicles including a drone taxi along the Mbale-Tirinyi road.

On May, 1 and May, 2 which were both public holidays saw 23 people die in crashes on Ugandan roads.

In just six days between May, 1 and 7, 103 people were killed in 364 accidents but earlier, in a period of eight days between April 24 and May 2, a total of 90 people had been killed in road crashes whereas in nine days between April, 10 and 19,101 people had lost their lives in crashes.

The statistics from Traffic Police also indicated that in the first 15 days of May, 176 people had died in 113 accidents whereas 659 were left with serious injuries from the accidents but in just one month of April, 153 people had died in road crashes.

For a period of 45 days, 329 people died on Ugandan roads, a trend that is worrying.

This state of affairs meant that 12 people died on Ugandan roads every day if the Traffic Police statistics were to go by.

In one week between, July, 2 and 9, 89 people died and 266 sustained injuries on Ugandan roads whereas the statistics also indicated that just in one month of July, 289 people were killed and 965 were injured in crashes.

Sampling the categories of people who died in the accidents, the statistics indicated that in a period of nine months between January and September, 1021 boda boda riders and 401 passengers lost lives due to road crashes in Uganda.

As accidents continued to take a toll on lives on Ugandan roads, statistics further indicated that 257 people were killed in a space of only 28 days between October, 1 and 29 as the worrying trend continued.

In September alone, at least 134 people were killed in two weeks, according to police statistics.

Of these, 77 died in one week and the other 57 in another week.

Festive season spike

The festive season saw a spike in the death due to road crashes in Uganda with a number of accidents recorded in the country.

For example, at least 55 people died in road crashes in four days in 206 crashes between December, 23 and 26.

The deaths continued even after Christmas festivities.

For example on December 28,at least 10 people lost their lives when a Mercedes Benz Actros trailer from Masaka heading to Mbarara side had a rear tyre burst and rammed into oncoming vehicles including a Toyota Hiace and a  Mark II Grande, killing 10 people on the spot.

The accident happened at Kaganda towards Kyojja swamp in Kinoni, Lwengo District along the Masaka - Mbarara highway.

The accident left 14 people nursing serious injuries.

Another accident at Hakabira on top of Rwahi hill in Rwahi town council in Ntungamo District claimed the lives of six people when a Volcano Bus collided with another, bus of Oxygen bus company.

Police has blamed most of the accidents to human error in form of reckless driving.