The annual Joe Walker Remembrance Rally Walk returns on November 14, bringing together road safety advocates, corporate partners, police and members of the public to honour Ugandans who have lost their lives in road crashes and renew calls for safer roads.
The 30-kilometre walk, which will start and end at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, seeks to remember those who have died, recognise the families left behind and remind motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users that many road crashes are preventable through responsible behaviour.
Launching this year’s event at Sheraton Gardens in Kampala, Joseph Beyanga, popularly known as Joe Walker, said the initiative was established to unite different stakeholders in confronting Uganda’s growing road safety challenges and encouraging responsible conduct on the roads.
He revealed that Uganda lost 5,383 people in road crashes in 2025, while another 18,008 sustained serious injuries, leaving thousands of families affected by deaths and life-changing injuries.
“When you hear the number 5,383, it’s 5,000 people. But when you go through the names, each one of them represents a brother, a sister, a cousin, a father, a mother,” Beyanga said.
He explained that the remembrance walk was intended to move the conversation beyond statistics and recognise the individual lives lost to road crashes.
“On November 14, at 6 a.m., when we meet here at Sheraton, we will take a moment to stop and remember not numbers but individuals who have been killed on the road,” he said.
Beyanga said the walk would also provide an opportunity for participants to make a public statement against reckless road use and demand greater responsibility from all road users.
“After remembering them and paying respect to them, we will step out and make a powerful statement to say enough is enough. Let’s stop the madness on our roads. Let’s make the road safe and ensure every journey brings you back home alive,” he said.
Beyanga identified speeding and careless overtaking as some of the leading causes of road crashes, arguing that motorists could save thousands of lives by observing traffic regulations and changing their behaviour.
“We know what’s killing us on the road. The police tells us all the time it is mostly speeding and careless overtaking. These are things which are known. So we can’t continue saying somebody has died of an accident. It’s not an accident. It’s something that is preventable,” he said.
He also raised concern about the vulnerability of pedestrians and boda boda users, saying Kampala’s road infrastructure does not adequately reflect the transport needs of the majority of its population.
Citing 2021 statistics, Beyanga said more than 50 per cent of Kampala’s daytime population of approximately 4.6 million people depended on walking, while 30 per cent used boda bodas, 10 per cent travelled by taxi and another 10 per cent used private vehicles.
He called on the Ministry of Works and Transport and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to prioritise the needs of all road users when planning and developing infrastructure.
“When you’re planning roads, plan roads for people. Don’t plan roads for just guys who are sitting in the boardroom and they drive around. Think of every user,” he urged.
On motorcycle safety, Beyanga acknowledged the important role boda bodas play in providing affordable transport and employment but said their contribution to the economy should not overshadow the need to address dangerous riding practices.
“You can’t wake up today and say you are getting rid of boda bodas in Kampala. That’s a really hard question. Boda bodas also, by the way, have a good side. They are one of the biggest employers for many of our colleagues. But then we can’t sit back and watch as people continue to die,” he said.
He argued that motorcycles themselves were not necessarily the problem, but rather how they were being operated on the roads.
“The motorcycles don’t kill people. It’s the way we are using motorcycles that is killing people. Make the motorcycle safe to make sure if it’s picking up kids, taking them to school, they will arrive at school safely. They’ll come back home alive,” he added.
Traffic and Road Safety Police spokesperson SP Michael Kananura welcomed the initiative, describing road safety as a shared responsibility that requires the involvement of government agencies, private companies, communities and individual road users.
“We first and foremost appreciate the Joe Walker initiative and the other partners that have joined him time and again to make sure that this occasion takes place. Road safety remains a collective responsibility. It is not something to leave to the Traffic Police alone, but every other person has to come on board,” Kananura said.
He confirmed that 5,383 people died in road crashes in 2025, translating into an average of approximately 15 deaths every day, while 18,444 people sustained serious injuries.
“Fifteen people every day is not a small number. And like Joe Walker put it, these are not just numbers. It is easy to mention their numbers, but if they told you to gather here the 5,383 people, there are too many people,” he said.
Kananura identified speeding and careless overtaking as responsible for close to 50 per cent of road crashes, adding that human error accounts for approximately 95 per cent of the causes.
“These are things you people that we can really do away with. So before we think of a pothole in the road, before we think of weather, we are talking of human error. Something to do with our behaviour as road users,” he said.
He further revealed that fatal crashes were more prevalent over weekends, particularly on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, while the highest number of fatalities was recorded between 6am and 8am.
December was identified as the month with the highest number of crashes, prompting police to appeal to motorists to exercise extra caution as the festive season approaches.
Kananura said police would intensify road safety operations targeting dangerous practices, including drunk driving, speeding, failure to wear helmets and reckless motorcycle riding.
He emphasised that enforcement alone could not solve the problem, urging road users to embrace voluntary compliance with traffic regulations.
“We wouldn’t want to prioritise or forefront enforcement when we can speak. Let’s speak. But if you also refuse to listen, then of course we get to the other plan B of enforcement,” he warned.
He also pledged police support for the November 14 walk, promising to mobilise more officers to participate and amplify the road safety campaign.
Robert Kyamanya of Nicole Foundation said his organisation had joined the remembrance initiative because of its personal experience with losing a loved one in a road crash.
He revealed that the foundation was inspired by the death of a daughter in a road crash in Kasese on January 15, 2020, and had since committed itself to preserving her legacy through road safety awareness and advocacy.
“Nicole, as a foundation, is really privileged to be part of this initiative because we are grounded from the issue of having lost a daughter in the road crash,” Kyamanya said.
He said working with Joe Walker and other stakeholders provided an opportunity to amplify messages that could prevent other families from enduring similar tragedies.
Sheila Najjita, Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda’s Country Lead for Communications, said the company believed road deaths and injuries could be prevented if every road user took responsibility for their safety.
“At Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda, we believe that zero is possible. It’s zero fatalities, zero injuries. Everyone who comes to the plant should get home safe. And now we are pulling out this message to the communities that we serve because we believe that the statistics are not just statistics. It’s someone that we love. It’s our father, our brother, our mother,” Najjita said.
She urged motorists to slow down, wear seat belts and ensure that boda boda riders and passengers use protective helmets.
“As we go into the festive season, we encourage you to slow down as you’re driving, to buckle up, make sure you have your seat belt, to wear a helmet for all our consumers who are on boda bodas. It is our responsibility. The buck starts and stops with us,” she added.
Benjamin Bicung, Plascon’s Marketing Manager, also called on Ugandans to take collective responsibility for making roads safer, noting that preventing crashes required responsible conduct from every road user.
As part of this year’s activities, participants will paint zebra crossings at selected locations around Kampala using paint donated by Plascon, in an effort to improve pedestrian safety and visibility.
This year’s walk will cover 30 kilometres, down from the 60 kilometres undertaken last year. Despite the shorter distance, organisers say the central purpose remains unchanged: remembering road crash victims, supporting affected families and advocating for safer roads.
Participants will assemble at Sheraton Hotel at 6:00am before setting off on the walk, which will also end at the hotel.
Registration is free and will remain open until November 9 through www.joewalker.org.
Those unable to participate physically can also support the initiative with a contribution of Shs20,000 through the payment details provided on the website.
The Uganda Police Force Annual Crime Report 2025 recorded 26,044 road traffic crashes, representing a 3.7 per cent increase from the 25,107 recorded in 2024.
Road fatalities also increased from 5,144 in 2024 to 5,383 in 2025, while traffic offences registered declined by 24.4 per cent, from 426,432 to 322,441 cases.
The report indicates that men accounted for 83 per cent of road traffic fatalities, compared with 17 per cent for women. Pedestrians, motorcycle riders and passengers, as well as cyclists, continued to bear a disproportionate burden of road deaths.
Motorcycles alone accounted for 3,224 fatalities, underscoring the scale of the safety challenge associated with boda boda transport.
The report also points to increased crash incidences during weekends, particularly Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Evening rush hours between 6pm and 8pm recorded 3,484 crashes, highlighting the risks associated with heavy traffic and road-user behaviour during peak periods.
With December traditionally recording the highest number of crashes, police and road safety advocates are urging Ugandans to exercise greater caution during the festive season.
The Joe Walker Remembrance Rally Walk is expected to bring together individuals, institutions and businesses behind a common message: every road user has a responsibility to prevent avoidable deaths and ensure that everyone who begins a journey returns home safely.
