MP Okabe’s family wants gov’t to improve on road network

Serere, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The family of the former Serere County MP, Patrick Okabe is asking the government to improve the road network in the country to help reduce road carnage. The family made the call during the Thanksgiving ceremony in memory of the late Okabe who perished on the road with his wife, Christine Okabe while traveling to Kampala on December 19, 2022.

His son and Serere County MP, Emmanuel Omoding Okabe, says that the poor road network is responsible for several accidents claiming lives almost daily across the country. Omoding also implored the government to regulate the movement of heavy trucks on the roads, which he notes has worsened the road situation in the country.

The Emorimor, Paul Sande Emolot wants the government to put up more punitive measures to curb road accidents. He notes that the government laxity especially among the Police compromises on the road is responsible for the high road carnage in the country.

Although speeding has been highlighted by the Police as the major cause of accidents in Uganda, most of the roads especially in Eastern Uganda have potholes which, in some instances, cause accidents. According to the 2022 Uganda Police Force (UPF) annual report, the country registered 20, 394 cases of road accidents, high above the 17,443 registered in 2021. In 2023, the police recorded a total of 87 accidents in one week in August alone.

In June 2023, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni signed into law the Traffic and Road Safety Amendment Bill 2023 increasing the fine from UGX. 200,000 to UGX. 2m for motorists driving beyond the prescribed speed limit. The move is aimed at restoring sanity and reducing the road carnage on the Ugandan roads, according to the government.

Okabe, also the Bishop and the overseer of Impact Ministries is remembered as one of the pillars of peace especially during his term of office as the chairperson Teso Parliamentary Group.

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