Joseph Beyanga, also known as Joe Walker has announced the dates for this year's walk aimed at promoting road safety awareness in the country.
Scheduled for November 17, 2024, the symbolic walk will begin at 6:00 AM from the independence monument in Kampala.
Held during Global Road Safety Week, the walk aims to commemorate lives lost on Ugandan roads and raise awareness for road safety. It will take place in a relay format, highlighting road safety as a shared responsibility.
Speaking during the launch on Wednesday, Beyanga expressed concern that Uganda is losing its future to road crashes, highlighting that the most affected age group is between 25 and 34 years.
He attributed this tragic trend largely to drivers' behavior on the road.
"I was just looking at the police report from last year. The most affected group of people is between 23 and 34 years old, that's really people at the beginning of their life. The next affected group is below 18 babies, their life has not yet yet started. But when you look at what causes all this, it's really boils down to driver behavior, how you and me conduct ourselves behind the wheel, reckless driving, careless overtaking, speeding, account for 74% of the road crashes," he said.
According to the police annual crime report for 2023, road crashes claimed 4,806 lives, an average of more than 13 people every day.
These accidents are largely attributed to reckless driving and careless riding.
"Last year, 4806 people were killed in road crashes and 75% of them are men. Wen you dig deep into all these statistics, and it just paints a green picture. You just see a country where the future is being killed now, these 4806 people, there could be the engineer who would have fixed the roads. Could be our next president to solve some of the issues we are talking about, could be the person who's going to sort out the traffic mess we have on the road," Beyanga said.
He said it is time everyone rose up against road carnage.
According to Beyanga, the onus is on everyone to find a lasting solution to road carnage.
"On November,17, we are going to stop and remember the victims of road crashes. The people who are in charge need to ensure road safety must do their job. The 14 people who are killed everyday, their lives matter. We are stopping to say we remember you and then we are also making a resolution. These people who died will make sure your lives were never wasted in vain. We are saying, Enough is enough. Let's stop the madness. We know what to do," Beyanga said.
He urged those in positions of responsibility to fulfilling their duties effectively.
"What are the people who are given the mandate to protect us doing? It's not that people don't know what to do to ensure road safety, it's the implementation that is failing. We are calling on each one of them. We are calling on the police, step up your enforcement and make sure this idiocy that we see on the road, the speeding and all that, stops and stops. Now we're calling on the ministry of works."
He asked members of the public to join him on the walk .
The event will feature a 60-kilometer relay walk, with teams completing the distance together.
Teams of six will walk 10 kilometers each, making the 60 kilometers feel manageable, while teams of three will cover 20 kilometers each, demonstrating the challenge in an inspiring way.
Superintendent of Police, Michael Kananura, the Traffic Police spokesperson, the role everyone has to play in ensuring road safety.
"It is my role and your role to make sure that these crashes are reduced on the roads. Enforcement, like I told you, is not enough. We cannot be everywhere. We can't reach everywhere, looking at also what is causing these crashes, one of them being an unsafe overtaking. These drivers tend to do unsafe overtaking, or to do those behaviors on the roads where traffic is not deployed,"Kananura said.
The Joe Walker Road Safety walk is organized in partnership with Sheraton, Jubilee Insurance, Nicole Foundation, Nation Media Group, and other dedicated organizations.
Each partner has emphasized their commitment to promoting road safety and has pledged to participate in the walk.
Jean-Philippe Bittencourt, the General manager Sheraton Hotel said emphasised the need by all stakeholders to pay attention to road safety and security.
"We need to pay attention to safety and security. The lives of our people are very important. It is concerning that almost every week you witness an accident happen. We need to do something to stop this."