The value of a Ugandan life: How do we move from ‘kitalo nnyo’ to ‘never again’?

What the report says

The Observer published a viewpoint arguing that Uganda’s public response to preventable deaths too often stops at expressions of sympathy rather than producing sustained accountability and safety reform. The article frames the issue around the phrase “kitalo nnyo,” commonly used to console the bereaved, and asks what it would take for the country to treat each avoidable death as unacceptable.

The writer points to school fires, violence against children, boda boda crashes and wider road fatalities as examples of tragedies that frequently prompt grief but limited systemic change. The piece says government responses can be slow or symbolic, citing a temporary halt to school trips after recent crashes involving children, while questioning whether the deeper problems are unsafe roads, vehicles, drivers, enforcement or institutional oversight.

For context, The Observer cites Uganda’s 2018 United Nations Road Safety Performance Review, which recorded road deaths rising from 2,597 to 3,503 over the previous decade, or about 10 deaths a day at the time. It also cites the 2025 Annual Police Crime Report as showing road traffic deaths increasing to 5,383 from 5,144 in 2024, roughly 15 deaths daily.

The article contrasts Uganda’s approach with aviation safety investigations, where crashes and near misses are examined in detail to prevent recurrence. It also references a World Bank article on South Korea, where child road deaths reportedly fell sharply between 1992 and 2014 after long-term enforcement, engineering and education measures. The central argument is that Uganda needs similar seriousness: not bans or performative reactions, but evidence-based reforms that make preventable deaths rarer.