RDF’s rescue and the state of our roads

On Tuesday, a fatal car accident happened in Tanzania involving a bus carrying 22 Rwandans and a Tanzanian, members of the popular Adventist choir, Ambassadors of Christ. The accident happened around Kahama and Shinyanga in Tanzania and three people died on spot. The Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) dispatched a helicopter with doctors on board to airlift the severely injured Rwandans from Shinyanga Hospital to King Faisal Hospital, after they had received the necessary first aid. Captain Eugene Ngabo, who was part of the RDF rescue team, told The New Times that four of the passengers had sustained severe injuries. Two ambulances were also sent to evacuate the rest of the patients. I don’t think I am armed with the best words to express my gratitude to RDF for upholding their constitutional expectation of participating in humanitarian activities. What is even more humbling is the fact that this was not a newsworthy action for any one who has been following the track record of RDF. I still remember vividly how they came to the rescue of earthquake victims at the border of Rwanda and DR Congo a few years back. Years before that RDF was involved in another evacuation in Uganda when a Jaguar bus collided with a fuel tanker killing over 50 passengers and again when a bus belonging to Regional Bus company also got involved in an accident claiming about 40 lives in Kabale. Apart from the good work done by RDF the other thing that is clear from all this, is the poor state of the roads in the East African region that keep claiming lives of travellers. Of course I am aware of the financial challenges that make it difficult for the countries in East Africa to upgrade their roads to safer levels. But as a frequent user of these roads, I must say the trip is always one you complete only on God’s mercy. There are several dangerous sections where you have sharp corners and also the straight sections where the drivers of the buses, easily slip into Formula 1 mode and turn their machines into race cars! To make matters worse there is always that occasional heavy truck painfully trying to go a steep section of the road. If it is not your lucky day, you will find this long truck trying to overtake another long vehicle turning the road it a one-way. Head-on collisions are the commonest on our highways and are, as a rule, fatal. Cases of heavy trucks mercilessly crashing smaller vehicles and fuel tankers catching fire after an accident are so common on our highways. The point I am trying to raise here, is that there is an urgent need to have our highways widened in order to make them safer. These roads are always used by cross-border passengers travelling from one capital to another. At the same time these roads are used to transport goods especially from Mombasa and Dar es Salaam seaports to the landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi Eastern DR Congo and Southern Sudan. This happens not only on a daily basis but also 24 hours now that most border points are open all the time. The chances of fatal accidents are so high and there are enough statistics to prove how dangerous our roads are. The best way to tame the situation is to consider widening the main highways or at least to widen the sections where you have sharp corners. There is also the issue of large trucks dangerously parking by the roadside at night only to be rammed into by other vehicles. The traffic laws need to be changed to make this illegal. In Tanzania, the heavy trucks are not allowed to move after 10am but some end up parking dangerously. The Ambassadors of Christ choir accident actually happened because there was a truck parked on the roadside. As a region, I think it is high time we came up with a joint road safety campaign and policy aimed at tackling this issue of road carnage. The campaign should address issues like over speeding, drivers who are fatigued and prone to sleep on the wheel as well as a detailed rescue plan. It is good when RDF comes to the rescue of Rwandans but other member states should be able to do the same. Especially since many of these accidents involve people of different countries. Once again I commend the RDF for a job well done and wish the relatives of those who died courage in this trying time. ssenyonga@gmail.com