Uganda registered 4,602 fatal road crashes in 2025, reflecting a 3.8% increase compared to 2024, according to the annual crime report released by the Uganda Police Force.
The Public Relations Officer and Liaison Officer for the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, Michael Kananura, noted that “speeding and careless overtaking alone accounted for 42% of these crashes—factors that are largely preventable.”
In response to the rising numbers, the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety has intensified interventions focusing on both enforcement and public sensitisation.
Ongoing nationwide operations under the code name “Arrive Alive” are targeting major traffic violations, including drink driving, operating defective motor vehicles (DMCs), driving without valid licences, violation of route charts, use of illegal sirens and flashing lights, unauthorized vehicle modifications, dangerous loading, passenger overloading, and riding without crash helmets, among others.
On the sensitisation front, several initiatives are being rolled out. These include engaging school-going children on road safety, educating vulnerable road users, and extending awareness campaigns to grassroots communities.
In line with this approach, a team led by Acting Director of Traffic and Road Safety, Norman Musinga, in collaboration with territorial police, has concluded a three-day road safety campaign in the Rwenzori East and West regions.
The campaign brought together key stakeholders from the business community, local council leadership, school administrators, taxi and boda-boda associations, market leaders, politicians, religious and opinion leaders, as well as bus owners, managers, and territorial police.
Through these engagements, the Directorate aims to promote collective responsibility in spreading road safety messages and encouraging positive behavioral change among all road users.
According to the report, Rwenzori West—comprising nine districts—recorded 176 fatalities, while Rwenzori East, covering five districts and divisions, registered 57 fatalities.
The police say such campaigns will be extended to other high-risk regions alongside sustained enforcement efforts to reduce road crashes and improve road safety nationwide.
Overall, Uganda recorded a 3.7% increase in road crashes, totaling 26,044 incidents in 2025. Tragically, 5,383 lives were lost, representing a 4.7% rise compared to 2024.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred on October 22, 2025, along the Kampala–Gulu Highway, where a head-on collision involving two buses and two other vehicles claimed 63 lives.
Authorities are urging all road users to take personal responsibility and adopt safer road practices to help curb the growing number of crashes across the country.
