Africa-Press – Uganda. A student of Law Development Centre (LDC) has become the latest victim of boda boda accidents after a trailer on Thursday crashed her dead at Makerere, Kavule in Kampala.
Police said Jalia Nakiboneka, a student of LDC Lira Campus was riding on the motorcycle as a passenger when the Mercedes Benz trailer crashed her at around 2:30pm.
“It is a dark day at LDC! We regret to announce the death of our student, Nakiboneka Jalia of Lira Campus, which occurred today at 2:30 P.M in Makerere Kavule. She was crushed by a trailer truck while travelling on boda-boda. Jalia was doing her Clerkship (Internship). MHSRIP!!!” LDC tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
READ: Four people die in boda boda accidents every day – police
The rider of the motorcycle took off immediately after accident, according to police.
“The body of the deceased was conveyed to city mortuary for postmortem. Inquiries into the cause of the accident are underway,” said ASP Faridah Nampiima, the traffic and road safety directorate spokesperson.
Minister’s daughter dies under similar circumstances
Nakiboneka’s death comes barely a week after the State Minister for Lands, Mr Sam Mayanja’s daughter Belinda Birungi, 23, was knocked by a trailer while riding on a boda boda on Stretcher road, Ntinda, Kampala, on October 28.
Road accidents have become rampant in the country with police saying they register at least four deaths as a result of boda boda crashes every day.
According to the 2021 Annual Crime and Traffic/Road Safety report 4,159 road accident fatalities countrywide were recorded. Of these 1,390 involved motorcycle riders while 528 were passengers on motorcycles. This translates to about four people dying from boda boda accidents every day and about 116 every month.
“Motorcycles have become a menace on the road. When you register five accidents a day, four involve motorcycles,” Ms Nampiima told this publication on Tuesday.
She said in October, 257 people died from in accidents and these were mostly due to boda boda.
“From October 1 to 29, 1,378 accidents were registered on different roads across the country and of these, 227 accidents were fatal, 705 were serious, and 446 were minor. In these accidents, 1,232 victims were involved and of these, 257 people died and 975 sustained injuries,” ASP Nampiima said.
READ: 134 people died in road crashes despite crackdown
Speaker directs
The rampant boda boda accidents prompted the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, early this week to issue a directive to the deputy Inspector General of Police, Maj Gen Geoffrey Tumusiime Katsigazi, to find a solution to curb the accidents.
“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,” Ms Among said during a meeting with the Maj Gen Katsigazi yesterday.
She added that police should tighten enforcement and traffic guidelines to rein in errant road users.
As a result, police said Wednesday that they would start boda boda crackdown operations on November 11.
“The Operation will target motorcycle riders without crash helmets, reflector jackets, driving permits, carrying more than one passenger and those without driving mirrors,” ASP Nampiima.
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