Your stories

This page is for your stories about Road Safety where you are living.

Posted 22/2/11. Joseph Sabiiti  runs a child sponsorship programme for Amigos in Uganda, it puts another slant on African road transport problems

Amigos is made up from an exciting mix of British and Ugandans with one aim, to build a better and fulfilling life for the next generation of Uganda’s mothers and fathers

Phil Pugsley runs Amigos www.amigos.org.uk.

Its hard to believe?.At about 8:30 pm, 10 miles away after Loro trading centre towards Lira town (northern Uganda) our bus driver lost control after overtaking a speeding trailer heading to Kampala. The bus entered into a thicket, passing through peoples houses, swinging left and right over very rough ground. (it was a miracle it didn’t roll over) Ten minutes later, not sure who was driving, but the bus sped off joining the main road, headed to Lira town leaving most of the passengers stranded!

 

The villagers started looking for the driver and they mistook some of us instead who did not understand the language for being either the bus driver or conductor.  In that confusion, they started slapping us (mob justice), I received good heavy slaps and kicking around my head and face. Thank God that I did not lose any property though many passengers did. Some jumped out of the bus with bruises/bleeding heavily. Some good Samaritan put us behind his pickup truck and took us to the bus park where I recovered all my belongings.

 

I am just from the clinic as I have pain around my left jaw, left eye and nose. I hope to get better soon as I am on treatment. I will carry on with the assignment of paying sponsorship school fees – No worries!
This is my ministry. Please keep praying for me.
Joseph.

Here is the story from Grace Mbuli Kithiki Kenya, 1 January 2006. You can read more stories from “Faces behind the Figures” in the report section.

On 1 January 2006, I was travelling with my husband from Kitui (Eastern Province) to Moyale. We were travelling in a lorry and sat on cargo – including mattresses and sofa sets – in the back because public service vehicles are hard to come by in that part of the country.

The lorry was not meant for passengers but that was the only way we could reach our destination, and we had done it many times before. There were several people in the lorry with us. It was very overloaded. We weren’t wearing seat-belts because we weren’t riding in a passenger vehicle and there weren’t any seat-belts – there wasn’t even that much room to sit.

The road was not tarmacked. It was potholed, rough and narrow.Since I was at the back of the lorry, I was unable to judge the exact cause of the accident. I do remember that the driver of the lorry seemed to have lost control, because the vehicle started swaying unsteadily as we moved about helplessly with nothing to hold onto.

After that, the lorry overturned and rolled at least three times. Six of the passengers in the lorry were killed and several others were maimed.

If I had an opportunity to speak to government officers about road safety, I would tell them to ensure that public service vehicles are available in all parts of the country, because that would allow passengers to travel comfortably and safely and it would help to avoid accidents like mine. I would also like the government to improve roads all over the country and to see to it that seat-belts are fixed in all vehicles.

Grace Mbuli Kithiki, injured victim.