By Sulaiman Kauki
Dr Stephen Asiimwe, a respected Ugandan doctor and public health specialist, died on Monday after a motorcycle accident in Tanzania. Members of the riding group he was travelling with confirmed the news.
According to a fellow rider who saw the crash, a truck heading in the opposite direction tried to overtake a string of trailers at high speed and drifted into the path of the motorcyclists.
Asiimwe attempted to steer clear of the vehicle but was hit and thrown from the roadway. “We found him unconscious,” said the rider, known as “Minister of Enjoyments.”
“We administered first aid and took him to hospital, where doctors declared him dead.” The truck driver left the scene but was later arrested. He is expected to appear in a Tanzanian court; authorities had not released details of the charges at the time of writing.
Asiimwe had nearly two decades of experience in health systems strengthening, medical research and disease prevention. He directed the Global Health Collaborative, which connects Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital and Mbarara University of Science and Technology with Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital.
He also sat on the board of Health Access Connect Uganda. He trained in medicine and surgery at Makerere University, later earning degrees in epidemiology and biostatistics from Case Western Reserve University and a doctorate in public health from the University of Georgia.
His professional roles included work with Uganda’s Ministry of Health, local government, universities and civil-society groups. He chaired the Mbarara regional committee of the AIDS Information Centre and earlier contributed to HIV prevention and research efforts at the Uganda AIDS Commission.
Outside his medical career, Asiimwe was an enthusiastic motorcyclist, runner, nature lover and traveller who frequently shared accounts of long-distance rides across Uganda and the region. In July he joined other riders on a 1,062-kilometre trip to Fort
Portal, completed the 21-kilometre Fort Portal City Marathon in 2 hours 34 minutes 22 seconds, and continued an adventure ride through western Uganda. He later described the journey as “a superb adventure ride” through forests and mountains, ending with the note:
“To the next!” His death has been met with mourning in both Uganda’s medical and motorcycling communities, where he was remembered as a dedicated researcher and an adventurous spirit.