22nd October 2025 – two buses collided head-on near Kiryandongo on the Kampala-Gulu highway. At least 46 people lost their lives.
It was a tragedy. But it was also something else: a familiar one.
These crashes grab headlines for a day or two, then fade. Yet behind each headline is a crisis that Uganda refuses to fully confront – until the next accident brings it back.
Road traffic crashes are a silent killer in Uganda. And the numbers tell a disturbing story.
According to the Uganda Police Force’s Annual Crime Report (2024), the road safety situation has worsened for three years in a row:
That’s a 7% rise in deaths and a 6.1% increase in fatal crashes compared to the previous year.
Total casualties (killed + injured) climbed from 21,473 in 2022 to 25,808 in 2024. And remember – these are reported cases. Thousands more go unrecorded every day.
Yes, we have rapid urbanisation, rising incomes, and more vehicles on the road. But that alone doesn’t explain the crisis.
The real culprits?
Chronic weaknesses in enforcement, crumbling infrastructure, and systems that simply don’t work.
The human cost is staggering. Global estimates (WHO, 2019) put Uganda’s road traffic mortality at 27–29 deaths per 100,000 people – nearly double the global average of 15–18.
The economic cost is equally frightening: road crashes eat up roughly 3–5% of Uganda’s GDP every year.
And at a personal level? Treating a single crash victim to recovery at Mulago National Referral Hospital costs an average of Ugx 13.66 million. The government pays 90% of that bill (Walekhwa & Mulolo, 2022).
Uganda hasn’t sat completely idle. The National Road Safety Action Plan (NRSAP) 2021/22–2025/26 exists. Its goal: reduce fatalities by 25% by 2026.
But many ask – why only 25%? Why not zero?
In July 2023, Speaker Anitah Among publicly criticised the Ministry of Works and Transport for failing to implement the 2019 Road Safety Act. Her words? The government’s efforts are “largely inactive.”
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Forum on Road and Water Safety (PAFROWS), chaired by Alex Ruhunda since 2014, keeps advocating for reform – but with limited visible impact so far.
Countries like Sweden and the Netherlands adopted Vision Zero and Sustainable Safety models. Their core belief: every death is preventable.
They design roads and vehicles to tolerate human error. They don’t just blame drivers – they fix systems.
Uganda’s NRSAP includes good ideas on infrastructure and enforcement. But it falls short of zero-fatality ambition, clear accountability, and the “safe system” approach that actually saves lives.
For Uganda to truly address this crisis, we need urgent, practical action – starting with a zero-fatality ambition.
Here’s what that could look like:
Let’s be honest: Uganda has laws, policies, and budgets. What we lack is execution.
When the Speaker of Parliament publicly laments poor implementation of a 2019 Act, that’s not a small oversight. It’s a sign of systemic neglect.
The Kiryandongo crash was not an isolated event. It is a symptom. Until road safety is treated as a shared national priority – across ministries, law enforcement, and citizens – the tragedies will repeat.
To change this trajectory, Uganda urgently needs:
✅ A bold vision for zero fatalities – not just incremental reductions.
✅ Clear institutional accountability with measurable progress tracking.
✅ Ring-fenced funding for road safety – no more empty budget lines.
✅ Locally adapted “safe system” designs that protect the most vulnerable.
✅ Political leadership that treats road deaths like the public health emergency they are.
The writer is a structural engineer and a doctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge.