Horror and sorrow gripped the Ugandan bikers following the death of their friend, forcing many of them to abandon the race and return home using alternative means of transport after a fatal road crash in Tanzania.
Dr Stephen Asiimwe, a Ugandan physician, epidemiologist and public health researcher, died on Monday, September 21, 2026, after a truck collided with him while he was riding with members of the Free Bikers and Ride Safe group in Tanga Region.
Asiimwe was the team leader of the group, which had left Uganda on September 16 and travelled through Nairobi, Kenya, before proceeding to Tanga for the motorcycle trip.
His death has profoundly disrupted the group’s return journey, with several riders reportedly too shaken to continue riding their motorcycles.
While some members chose to ride their bikes back to Uganda, others opted to use public transport through Nairobi. Another group travelled alongside Asiimwe’s body as it was transported by road back to Uganda on Tuesday.
A biker who witnessed the crash said a truck travelling in the opposite direction attempted to overtake a line of trailers at high speed before veering into the path of the motorcyclists.
Asiimwe reportedly tried to avoid the truck but was struck and thrown off the road.
“We found him unconscious,” the biker, who uses the name “Minister of Enjoyments”, said.
“We gave him first aid and then rushed him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”
The truck driver allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested. He was expected to face proceedings in a Tanzanian court, although details of the charges had not been publicly released.
The death has devastated Uganda’s biking fraternity, where Asiimwe was known as “Froggie” and was remembered for his enthusiasm for long-distance motorcycle trips.
“Very unfortunate news about our comrade Dr Asiimwe aka Froggie,” biker Tony Otoa said.
“He was the President of Free Bikers Association and a very happy man. I had the opportunity of sharing a meal with him and his crew last week. I will miss his passion for the road and long distance rides.”
Beyond biking, Asiimwe was a respected physician-scientist and public health specialist with about two decades of experience in medical research, health systems and disease prevention.
He was an honorary senior lecturer at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) and served as programme director of the MUST-Massachusetts General Hospital Global Health Collaborative.
His research interests included HIV prevention, lung health, air pollution, ageing, cognitive impairment and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
He studied medicine and surgery at Makerere University before obtaining postgraduate training in epidemiology and biostatistics at Case Western Reserve University in the United States and a doctorate in public health from the University of Georgia.
His death carries an especially painful irony.
On June 8, Asiimwe had written about road fatalities after losing his nephew, Arnold, in a crash.
“As a public health practitioner, it hurts so much when you see preventable deaths,” he wrote.
Away from his professional work, Asiimwe was a passionate motorcyclist, runner, traveller and nature enthusiast.
In July, he joined fellow riders on a 1,062-kilometre journey to Fort Portal, where he completed the 21-kilometre city marathon in two hours, 34 minutes and 22 seconds before continuing his motorcycle adventure through western Uganda.
“It was a superb adventure ride,” he wrote afterwards, ending his account with: “To the next!”
For his fellow bikers, however, the latest journey ended in tragedy, leaving a group that had set out for adventure returning home in mourning.
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