Two years after a near-fatal accident, Umar Nsubuga still regrets why he remained silent about a reckless driver whom he let drive while talking on the phone. 

It was on September 22, 2018, when Nsubuga set out for fieldwork in Kapchorwa district in Eastern Uganda. Kapchorwa is about 250km from Kampala City by road. 

The journey started at around 1:00 pm, from the Old Taxi Park in Kampala where Nsubuga boarded a taxi to Mbale town where he would spend a night and head to Kapchorwa the following morning for his appointment.  

This was not the first time he was plying this route. He has been to Kapachorwa several times and knows almost all the commuter drivers there.  

However, this time he did not make it to Kapchorwa. He got an accident along the way fracturing both his hands and suffered deep wounds on the head. 

Nsubuga who loves the co-driver’s seat because of good legroom, recalls the day the accident happened. 

“Right from the time we got out of the taxi park to Jinja Road, I was not comfortable with the driver. It was my first time meeting this driver, which rang a warning bell.  I sensed his recklessness, but ignored the signs,” Nsubuga says. 

Hardly an hour into the journey, the driver reached for his phone.  

“For about an about 20 minutes and during this time he was not only speeding but overtaking recklessly. Had I been cautious, that would have been the right time to get off the taxi or to speak up” Nsubuga says. 

Not only did Nsubuga stay silent but all the other 14 passengers stayed silent.  

“None of us cautioned the driver for putting our lives at risk,” Nsubuga narrates. 

After about three hours into the journey, most passengers started dozing and sleeping but Nsubuga remained still, worried about the death trap we were in. 

Face-to-face with death 

At Bukoona village on the Mbale-Tirinyi highway, the driver again fished out his cell phone and started engaging a friend telling her he would be there shortly. He stepped on the accelerator more, increasing the already high speed.  

Nsubuga was stuck in the mangled car for a while after the accident.

“I sensed trouble when about 200m ahead, a truck loaded with sugarcane was indicating a right turn (the side our car was), yet our driver showed no signs of slowing down. He was still talking on the phone oblivious of the danger ahead,” Nsubuga says. 

It was clear the driver’s focus was more on the appointment than the safety of the passengers. 

“I warned him to reduce the speed, but he remained adamant. As we drew closer to the truck, I cautioned him the second time in a harsh tone, but he would not take heed. The third time I shouted, asking him why he was killing us. This awoke most of the passengers and they started yelling and calling on God to save them,” Nsubuga says. 

The passengers were staring at death. 

“The next thing I heard was a loud bang. I went cold. The driver swerved the taxi, hitting the side on which I sat on the truck to save himself,” he adds. 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the faster a vehicle is moving, the more likely it is to be involved in a crash.  

Every one kilometre per hour increase in speed results in a 3% increase in crashes resulting in an injury, and a four to five increase in fatal crashes. 

Fortunately, the vehicle did not overturn or roll off the road. The loud bang, followed by the noise coming from the accident scene, attracted rescuers.  

“My arms were crushed as I instinctively tried to cover my face to wait for the worst to happen. In the process, I sustained two fractures on the right hand and one on the left. My legs were also trapped. Worse still, I was bleeding profusely from the deep cut on my face. My clothes were soaked in blood. My head had torn through the windshield,” Nsubuga narrates.   

The Police came in time and rushed those with injuries to Iganga Hospital.  

The unharmed driver had jumped out and crossed to the opposite side of the scene, still on phone, probably informing his friends of what had happened. Shortly after, he vanished. 

At the accident scene, four people were confirmed dead with several others injured. Two more people died after reaching the hospital. 

He however regrets not being cautious. 

Nsubuga suffered serious fractures to his hands in the accident.

“I can’t do the things I used to do like riding a motorcycle, exercising, carrying heavy loads like water. My hands were fixed with intramedullary (IM) devices, which makes me delicate,” Nsubuga says. 

He considers himself to be very lucky to have survived with injuries.  

The rescue from the crash

As the Police rushed the injured passengers to hospital, Nsubuga remained trapped in the wreckage, face-to-face with death.  

For the next 20 minutes, rescuers struggled to remove him. 

“I blacked out. I could, however, overhear rescuers saying I was dead,” he says. 

After everybody had been rushed to hospital, the rescuers then brought an axe to cut through the wreck to pull Nsubuga out.  

However, the rescue was more about his valuables than retrieving the “body”.  

“First, my pockets were emptied. I had sh500,000. Then two of the rescuers vanished as soon as they discovered my travel bag and the small camera,” he says. 

However, the first axe into the metal made him realise he would be finished if he did not indicate he was alive.  A loud yell did the trick.  

“I tried to plead with them to spare my gadgets (my job) in vain. The big camera only survived because it had fallen between my legs, which were still trapped,” Nsubuga says. 

An old man rushed to the scene on hearing the ‘dead man's' alarm. Nonetheless, it was Police officer David Okanya, who returned from the hospital to the scene, who saved him. 

“I would have, perhaps, bled to death as people looked on,” Nsubuga recalls. 

Nsubuga was rushed to Iganga hospital where he would spend the night. 

Nsubuga underwent surgery for five hours to fix the bones in his arms.

“I was shivering from the cold bed with no sheets, those on the floor considered me lucky. It is about midnight. The doctor stitched the wound on my forehead without anaesthesia,” he says. 

Nsubuga’s wife, and relatives arrived at 3:00 am with an ambulance that rushed him to Case Hospital in Kampala for specialised treatment.  

The next day, at 3:30 pm he was taken to the theatre after the doctors had explained to the family that the fractures were severe. 

“I came out of the theatre after five hours with internal and external fixations. I spent six days in the hospital for close monitoring before I was discharged,” Nsubuga says. 

Even though three years later he feels more and more comfortable telling his story or looking at photos of the accident, he is often reminded of his miraculous survival. 

“Never will I ever entrust my life into the hands of a reckless driver again. To avoid my situation, speak out,” Nsubuga says. 

Accidents in Uganda

More than 3,000 Ugandans die in road crashes every year. On a daily, Uganda loses approximately nine lives, according to Uganda Police Annual Crime reports. 

In 2020, there were 12,249 road crashes and of these 3,269 were fatal. In 2019 there were 12,858 road crashes and of these 3,407 were fatalities.  

The rise in the number of crashes on our roads is both distressing and frightening.

What is worrying is that the majority of these deaths happen to the young and productive population.

Last year alone, 57 per cent of the registered fatalities were persons below 35 years. 

“If you are travelling in a vehicle and the driver is speeding or behaving dangerously, then speak out. Ask others in the vehicle to do the same. You will save your life,” says Rogers Musiime a road safety activist. 

Apart from the burden that these road mishaps places on victims' families, they also take a huge toll on the national economy. 

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, annually the country loses 5% of Gross Domestic Product, which is around Shs4.4 trillion, in deaths or injuries that take people out of productive work. 

Lawrence Nuwabiine the acting Director of Traffic and Road Safety says Uganda accident relates to behavioural risk factors; drink driving, speeding, limited helmet use for the case of motorcyclists and their passengers.

“Over 3500 people die in road crashes every year in Uganda. 34% are pedestrians. 31% are motorcyclists, 25% are passengers, 5% are pedal cyclists and 5% are drivers. Pedestrians don't have where to pass and this is a huge challenge,” Nuwabiine says. 

Over speeding and drink driving are factors that contribute greatly to road traffic injuries. 

The other growing challenge according to Nuwabiine is distracted driving. 

“Within an instant, you can cause a serious or fatal crash if you are distracted from driving by your phone, or the dashboard radio, Nuwabiine says. 

He says distracted driving crashes are 100% preventable. 

Distracted driving is defined as any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving. 

It is also common knowledge that there are too many rickety vehicles on Ugandan roads.  

What can be done 

Winstone Katushabe, Commissioner Transport Regulation and Safety at the Ministry of Works and Transport challenged Civil Society Organisations, to support people and educate them on the dangers of over speeding. 

“Changing the minds of our people is key. We need to explain to people why you should drive at this speed and not 180km per hour especially in urban areas,” Katushabe says 

He emphasized government commitment to try and ensure the roads are safe.  

“Ensure pedestrian ways are protected from intruders so that they are used by friends like the school children,” Katushabe says. 

David Muhumuza a retired driver says police and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) should enforce the laws and do awareness campaigns on road safety. 

“Enforcement can change behaviour which can change attitudes particularly when it is accompanied by public awareness campaigns. Enforcement reduces the chances of being involved in a fatal crash but enforcement must be sustained,” Muhumuza says.