The head of radio at Nation Media Group-Uganda, Mr. Joseph Bayanga better known as Joe Walker and other Ugandans have initiated a walk from Uganda’s capital, Kampala to Mbale city.
The deputy speaker of the 11th Parliament Hon. Thomas Tayebwa flagged off the trekking team on Monday 6 2023 at 6am.
“We are setting off on Monday at 6:30am for Kampala to Mbale for the road safety walk,” Joe Walker said on Sunday.
Just like the last walk editions, Mr Joe Walker’s trek to Mbale aims at fostering road safety awareness among road users in the country and the road to Mbale has been prioritized this time round because of the many accidents in the forested area which have been attributed to reckless driving.
The road to Mbale, goes from Kampala through Nakawa, Mukono, Lugazi then Jinja. Between Lugazi and Jinja, the road is a hotbed of carnage because of its abandoned nature, especially as people weave through Mabira Forest and various miles of sugarcane plantations.
“The whole of Jinja Road is a hotspot, as it is busy with buses and trailers coming from Kenya. We have lost two MPs on that road and it is not the only road that has accidents but it is one of the most dangerous ones,”Beyanga said.
Beyanga expects other members to join him for the walk including those who teamed up with him in the past.
“Most of the people I walked with last time are coming back for this walk and many others are joining me,” he said.
According to Beyanga, the crew is set to engage in a number of activities which include talking and sensitising communities around the roads and repainting Zebra crossings.
Other activities include working with the schools because among many victims of road accidents are pedestrians where some are school going children between ages of 6 (six) to 16 (sixteen) years.
He is also set to involve community leaders as well as the biggest players such as the drivers, cyclists and pedestrians for the success of the walk.
History of the walk
Beyanga’s first trek was from Kampala to Bushenyi (320.3 km) in March 2022 where he claimed to trace footsteps of his father. By then,!Beyanga was turning 45 years of age and was relating that to 1945 the year his father and the group of other men including his uncles embarked on a trip from Bushenyi to Buganda seeking job opportunities among others.
His walk was paramount as he was living his father and uncle’s footsteps as well as preaching a message of safety on roads.
On 8th December 2022, he also walked a distance of 25 kilometres on the Northern Bypass to created awareness on road safety in the country.
