Accidents: Youth betrayed by neglect

Your Excellency President Museveni, I write with profound sorrow, mourning yet another promising young Ugandan whose life was cut short in a preventable accident. Born in 1984 into an impoverished family, he was the first in his lineage to graduate, a beacon of hope for those who sacrificed everything to educate him. 

His extended family pooled resources, believing that education would secure a better future, not just for him, but for generations to come. He worked hard, qualified as a lawyer, got married, and had children. But two days ago, all that promise was destroyed. He was killed by a hit-and-run boda boda. The rider never stopped, never looked back, because in Uganda, boda boda riders can kill and vanish without consequence. 

Who knows how many lives this one rider has taken before? How many more will die because of the government's failure to regulate this sector? How has this young man benefited from your government, except that he has died feeling betrayed? He has left behind a young wife and two toddlers, now forced to navigate life without the man who was meant to secure their future. And what is even more painful? 

He would have had a good chance of recovery if Uganda had a functioning healthcare system. Instead, his injuries became a death sentence, another victim of a system that fails its people at every turn. 

Mr Museveni, Vision 2040 speaks of Uganda’s transition to a middle-income country, but how can this be achieved when the very people meant to drive that vision are being wiped out? Families have sacrificed to educate their children, believing they are securing their future, yet for many, which future ends in a coffin. What good is education in a system that offers no protection, no infrastructure, and no guarantees of survival? 

Boda bodas are both a necessity and a national disaster. The government's failure to provide a safe, efficient transport system has forced Ugandans to rely on them. But instead of being a tool for economic growth, they have become agents of destruction. The statistics paint a grim picture: 46 out of 86 road deaths in just one week (May 25 – June 1, 2024) were caused by boda bodas. 

In 2023 alone, nearly 45 percent of all road fatalities in Uganda involved motorcycles. Uganda loses an estimated 10 people per day to road accidents, costing the economy $1.2 billion annually—about 5 percent of GDP. These are not just numbers. They represent shattered dreams, wasted sacrifices, and families left to mourn their brightest hopes. How does a nation prosper when its youth, its future leaders, doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs, are buried before they can contribute to society? 

If the government can enforce traffic stops for VIP convoys, why can’t it enforce basic road safety? Uganda cannot continue on this path. The boda boda industry must be reformed before more lives are lost. I urge the government to enforce strict licensing and training for boda boda riders to professionalise the sector, make helmet and reflective gear use mandatory. Helmets alone reduce fatalities by 42 percent, designate motorcycle lanes to prevent reckless weaving through traffic and establish a boda boda regulatory authority to enforce compliance and safety measures. 

Also, launch a national road safety campaign to educate both riders and passengers and introduce boda boda registration and tracking systems to curb hit-and-run crimes. Mr President, you speak of Uganda’s future, but how can we build a future when we are burying its potential? The youth you encourage to work hard and rise above poverty are being wiped out before they can succeed. 

Every boda boda death is not just a statistic, it is a failure of leadership. The time for reflection is over. The government must act, or history will remember it not for building Uganda, but for allowing it to crumble, one preventable death at a time.

Gertrude Kamya Othieno is a critical political sociologist, alumna - London School of Economics. 
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