The Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom has asked the government and traffic police to step up road maintenance and enforcement of traffic regulations as accidents increase in the Bunyoro sub-region.
Moses Atuha, the kingdom’s head of tourism, made the call while receiving the Joe Walker team, which walked from Kampala to Hoima for six days as part of a road safety awareness campaign.
He said that while the kingdom can advocate for safer roads, the government remains the key player responsible for enforcing regulations and ensuring timely road repairs.
Joe Walker, who led the road safety campaign, said the team will continue conducting such activities to raise awareness and encourage stakeholders to take action on road safety.
The Joe Walker delegation, which walked from Kampala to Hoima on a road safety awareness campaign, arrived in Hoima City past lunchtime and made their first stop at the Bunyoro Kingdom offices.
There, they held an engagement with kingdom officials led by the head of tourism, Moses Atuha, who represented the kingdom’s Prime Minister Andrew Byakutaga.
Atuha welcomed the campaign but challenged the government to be more intentional in repairing roads and urged police to enforce traffic regulations without fear or favour.
“Government is the key stakeholder. I don’t know if we need to have a department specifically in charge of potholes, because roads take long to be repaired. But police should also not be merciful to errant boda boda riders and car drivers who violate traffic regulations,” he said.
The kingdom also promised to support the campaign and encouraged citizens to follow traffic guidelines, saying it would continue reminding the public about the importance of road safety.
“We also want to ask our people to be careful while driving. It is dangerous to drink and drive because it puts your life at risk,” he said.
Joe Walker, who headed the delegation that walked from Kampala to Hoima for six days, noted that along the journey they observed many cases of dangerous driving.
“On the way, we made many observations. We will compile a report and present it to the Ministry of Works for consideration. But we observed a lot of bad driving. Even here in the city, you find boda boda riders parking on pedestrian walkways, leaving people with nowhere to pass except stepping into the road,” he noted.
Walker said they intend to partner with key stakeholders, including religious and cultural institutions, to advocate for safer driving practices.
“We believe people listen to religious and cultural leaders, so we will engage many of them to join us in advocating for safer driving and responsible road use,” he said.