By Juungu Archelaus
Amid regular traffic police operations, the scourge of road carnage continues to rage across Uganda. Recently, the Deputy Executive Director of the Uganda Media Centre published a timely article in the Nile Post on 14 July 2026, calling for fundamental road safety reforms.
He rightly observed: “Road safety campaigns should not be occasional events conducted after major tragedies. They must become continuous national programmes involving schools, media houses, transport associations, religious institutions, and local governments.”
Since the launch of the “Kisanja No Sleep” operations, road crashes have claimed more than three times the number of lives lost during the Ebola epidemic, a crisis that rightly prompted a direct presidential address to the nation.
Beyond the fatalities, countless Ugandans have been left with life-altering injuries, forcing many to rely on wheelchairs and other mobility aids for the rest of their lives. From civil servants and families travelling across the country to our gallant soldiers, schoolchildren and young pupils, this tragedy has spared no sector of society.
We cannot allow these devastating stories to remain temporary, forgettable headlines. It is deeply disturbing to read the frequent updates issued by Regional Police Spokespersons announcing rising casualty figures, often followed by the routine appeal for “careful driving.” That message has sadly become our new normal.
To our responsible government ministries and Members of Parliament: these are your voters. These are Uganda’s future bright minds who are dying or sustaining critical injuries on your watch.
A separate article published by DailyExpress, titled “A Half-Way Equation: Why Training Pedestrians Won’t Stop Road Carnage,” exposed a major flaw in our current strategy. It highlighted how Traffic Police and their partners invest significant resources training school-going children on road signs and distributing reflective gear. While such interventions are commendable, they only solve half the equation because drivers bear the primary responsibility for every life on board and every life using our roads.
We must tackle this crisis where it begins: with the behaviour of the driver. Until we instil absolute discipline in the person behind the wheel, no amount of road signage, school assemblies or social media campaigns will stop the bloodshed on our roads.
As I previously summarised it: “We are teaching pedestrians how to avoid being hit, but we aren’t teaching drivers how to stop hitting them.”
The solutions to this crisis are already known; what is lacking is urgent implementation. Knee-jerk reactions, such as suspending school trips while allowing other commercial transport sectors to continue operating after receiving little more than stern warnings, will no longer suffice.
The crisis has reached a point where it demands immediate, systemic action rather than temporary patchwork measures.
Government should strengthen driver training and licensing, enforce strict vehicle inspections, hold transport operators accountable for negligence, expand intelligent traffic enforcement, and ensure that road safety education becomes continuous rather than reactive.
Every life lost on our roads represents a family shattered, dreams extinguished and a nation diminished. Road carnage is no longer merely a transport issue. It is a national public health emergency, an economic burden and a moral challenge that requires unwavering political commitment.
The time for condolences after every tragedy has passed.
The time for decisive action is now.
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