Rotaract Responds to Non-Functioning Traffic Lights at Nkumba with Road Safety Campaign

**PHOTO:** Rotaractors talking to a Boda-Boda rider during the road safety campaign. **Photo by:** Japheth Godwin Walakira

According to the club administrator, Lamula Nangendo, the campaign was initiated in response to the chaotic traffic situation that has persisted for close to two weeks.
“If you have been keen enough, these traffic lights have been faulty for now close to 2 weeks, both motorists and pedestrians have to negotiate their way unguided, in such a busy intersection with 4 lanes and 2 U-Turns, this is risky.” Said Nangendo

Nkumba traffic lights are also set to cater for different road users including pedestrians who are mostly students. Pedestrians now take longer to cross amidst an extreme risk of being ran over by the speeding motorists.
Nakalema Jacinta, a mobile money operator says that the area might turn into a death spot if authorities don’t come in and rectify the faulty traffic lights. “I have witnessed an instance where a Boda-Boda rider almost collided with a car, this will soon become a death trap if people responsible don’t act immediately.”

**PHOTO:** Nangendo Lamula (L) and other Rotararactors interacting with Boda Boda riders at Nkumba stage. **Photo by:** Japheth Godwin Walakira

The Vice chairperson Nkumba Boda-boda stage, Kyagulanyi Ronald expressed fear saying that Traffic lights being off puts many lives in danger,”as a matter of fact, I am worried of what might happen, these traffic light have been off for a while now, to make matters worse, not even a single traffic police officer has been deployed here to guide traffic.”

Boda boda riders thanked the Rotaract Club of Nkumba University for its humanitarian gesture and appealed to authorities to restore the traffic lights. “This is a good gesture, thank you Nkumba University, however, I call upon Uganda National Roads Authority to fix the traffic lights as soon as possible.”

For nearly two weeks, the Nkumba stage traffic lights have been non-operational, posing a significant risk to the safety of road users.

Nkumba University Rotaract Club is a humanitarian service organization composed of Nkumba University students under the sponsorship of the Rotary Club of Entebbe.

The 2022 Police Annual Crime reports indicates that a total of 1,021 boda-boda riders and 401 passengers were killed in road accidents within 9 months. The statistics mean that at least 110 boda-boda riders were killed every month while the report further shows that a total of 2393 people sustained injuries due to accidents caused by boda-boda cyclists. The figure is above the 1918 people killed in 2021