Ugandan police on Monday decried the increasing high road fatalities after 64 people were killed in the past week ahead of the festive season.
Michael Kananura, directorate of traffic and road safety spokesperson, told reporters in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, that out of the 379 accident victims registered from 349 road crashes across the country, 64 people were killed and 315 sustained injuries from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2.
“This is totally unacceptable. The causes of these accidents seemed to be improper overtaking, speeding and following too close,” said Kananura. “We encourage all members of the public, those who are traveling, passengers and everyone to report all traffic violations on the road. Road safety is a shared responsibility.”
The traffic police spokesperson said the police have strengthened law enforcement and supervision and regulations through targeted operations on the roads, targeting commuter taxis, motorcycle taxis and other risk factors such as speeding, drunk driving and driving without or expired permits.
“The directorate of traffic and road safety has continued to put emphasis on enforcement and awareness as we approach the festive season,” said Kananura.
“In the last one week, our operations on driving licenses, a total of 523 defaulters were arrested. Out of these, 121 were driving without licenses, 181 were driving with expired licenses and 221 were driving out of class.”
Uganda registered 20,394 cases of road accidents in 2022 compared to 17,443 registered in the previous year, reflecting a 16.9 percent increase, according to the 2022 Annual Crime Report by the Uganda Police Force.
