Pastor Micah Rwothumio (R), with Nation Media Group head of radio production Joseph Beyanga (L) who walked 320 Kilometers in a campaign dubbed ‘Joe Walker’, seeking at create road safety awareness and remind motorists to save pedestrians in Uganda.
Pastor Micah Rwothumio, of University Community Fellowship located in Makerere – Kikoni, a neighbourhood in Kampala, has commended Joseph Beyanga, a journalist and minister of the Gospel who completed a 320 Kilometers walk last week from Kampala to Bushenyi district in western Uganda, to highlight the dangers faced by pedestrians on roads across the country.
On Wednesday, Pastor Micah, who will soon be turning 60, explained that we was part of the initiative “to support a son.”
The campaign kicked-off 28 February at the Nation Media Group (NMG) offices in Namuwongo, Kampala with over 40 people. Reports show that part of the team painted zebra crossings at accident blackspots and engaged communities on road safety during the journey.
“All great causes are good, but it is more special if you have a definite personal relationship with one who is behind the initiative. ‘Joe Walker’ [referring to Joseph Beyanga] came into my life in his first year on campus a young inquisitive lad, a little bit laid back kind of a guy but not until you get to know him, you will easily by pass him yet such an amazing lovely dude,” Pastor Micah Rwothumio said. “He became part of my life and most weekends we would spend time together as a family after church.”
“From Campus, I have watched him walk with Jesus and grow in his relationship with God, I have seen this dude in his first part-time job, to where he is working now, to his first rental, to getting the love of his life, to their introduction to their wedding, firstborn child to the second, I have watched a young lad become a real dude – a real man of God,” Pastor Micah stated.
At NMG, Beyanga is currently in charge of KFM and Dembe FM among other duties. He is also the man behind the #StayInYourLane campaign.
“To me it was such an honor to follow behind him – trekking those miles in the hot sunshine that turned all of us literally into a charcoal color, those moments when it was just the two of us on the long stretch alone, we would walk for miles talking and all of a sudden all silent not knowing what is going on in the other person’s mind but walking and walking and walking on and on and on…” he continued.
Pastor Micah commended Joseph Beyanga for “setting the pace” and “representing Jesus so well.” He thanked him for his boldness and courage, adding that he is an “amazing example to many.”
According to the Minister of Works and Transport Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, a total of 3,633 people were killed in road accidents in Uganda in 2020. The figure is an increase from the ones posted in 2018 and 2019 when at least 3,194 and 3,407 people, respectively, were killed in road accidents, according to government data.
