BY DOROTHY NALUMANSI
Speaker of Parliament Anita Among during one of the meetings after the release of the police CCTV camera footage in which dozens of boda bodas are seen getting involved in accidents asked Deputy Inspector General of Police Maj Gen Tumusiime Kasigazi to solve the boda boda accidents crisis.
In a meeting, convened following the release of a CCTV video by police, in which graphic details show accidents involving boda-bodas during October, Ms Among told Maj Gen Kasigazi that the country faces a crisis that must be addressed immediately.
“We face a crisis, especially on Kampala roads as a result of reckless boda-boda riders. We must address it forthwith. You need to take critical steps to reverse this devastating trend and save lives on our roads,” she said, noting that police should also find long-term solutions to solve the issue of road carnage, through tightening enforcement and traffic guidelines to curb errant road users.
Boda boda accidents remain the largest contributor of fatal accidents, in which at least an average of 1,918 people are killed annually, according to the 2021 Annual Crime and Traffic/Road Safety report.
Maj Gen Kasigazi said that it was true the recent spate of accidents had been a result of reckless road users, noting that police will come up with measures to address the matter.
On Saturday, State Minister for Lands Sam Mayanja’s daughter Belinda Birungi was reportedly knocked while riding on a boda-boda along Stretcher Road, Ntinda.
The boda-boda rider whose particulars were not readily available by the time of filing this report died on the spot while Birungi was rushed to hospital in critical condition before she was pronounced dead moments later.
