The Northern Bypass is Kampala’s most dangerous road corridor

The Northern Bypass has emerged as one of Kampala’s most dangerous road corridors, with nine of the city’s 10 major crash hotspots located along the road.

According to the 2025 Kampala Road Safety Report released by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Stella Namatovu, the surveillance coordinator for Kampala City, said while presenting the findings that nine of the 10 major crash hotspots identified in the city are located along the Northern Bypass.

Among the black spots identified are the Bwaise Interchange from Kalerwe, Bwaise Roundabout, Masanafu, the Kyambogo-Najera Junction, Kalerwe Roundabout from Kyebando, Kyebando police junction. Busega Roundabout,  Besega round and the Queen’s Way-Katwe section.

Namatovu said the Kampala figures reflect a wider national road safety crisis.Uganda Police recorded 5,383 road deaths nationwide in 2025, up from 5,144 in 2024, representing a 4.7 percent increase. Serious injuries also increased by 8.4 percent, with motorcyclists and pedestrians remaining the most vulnerable road users.

The Kampala report shows that the burden of road deaths continues to fall disproportionately on people who use the roads without the protection of a vehicle.

Motorcyclists accounted for about half of all reported deaths, while pedestrians accounted for 43 percent. Together with cyclists, vulnerable road users accounted for about 94 percent of all road deaths in Kampala, according to the KCCA report.

Namatovu said the pattern is not new. KCCA’s 2024 report similarly found that pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists accounted for 94 percent of fatalities, with motorcyclists alone accounting for 49 percent of deaths.

The Kampala findings also reveal a strong age dimension to the road safety crisis, with people aged between 20 and 29 recording the highest number of deaths and serious injuries in 2025.

Namatovu said the age group represents Uganda’s economically productive population, meaning that road crashes not only cause immediate loss of life but also deprive families, workplaces and the wider economy of valuable human resources.

Men continued to account for the overwhelming majority of victims in Kampala, representing more than 82 percent of deaths and about 73 percent of serious injuries.

The report further found that fatal crashes were most common between 2pm and 4pm.

Namatovu said further research is needed to establish why this period carries a particularly high risk.

The Kampala pattern differs from the national picture. Uganda Police statistics for 2025 show that fatalities nationwide were highest between 6pm and 8pm.

October was the month with the highest number of reported crash fatalities in Kampala. Nationally, October was also the deadliest month of 2025, with police recording 523 road deaths.

Namatovu called on road safety agencies to move beyond documenting crashes and instead concentrate resources in areas and periods where the risks are greatest.

She said priority should be given to protecting pedestrians and motorcyclists, who account for the overwhelming majority of road deaths in Kampala.

She also urged authorities and road safety advocates to address high-risk locations, particularly the Northern Bypass and its intersections, through a combination of engineering improvements, enforcement and road-user education.

Namatovu further called for enforcement and preventive activities during periods when crashes are most likely to occur. In Kampala, the report recommends greater visibility and preventive measures during the 2pm–4pm peak period, as well as increased attention during the October–December period.