Today in History: Former Vice President Gad Toko Dies in Road Crash

Toko died while travelling to Jinja for a golf tournament, ending the career of one of Uganda’s pioneering military aviators and post-independence political figures.

On August 18, 2002, former Vice President Brigadier Gad Wilson Toko and Constitutional Review Commission member Christine Kania died in a head-on collision at Bulumagi, about 12 to 13 kilometres from Jinja along the Kampala-Jinja highway.

Toko was driving a Nissan Patrol towards Jinja to preside over the Club Pilsner Jinja Open Golf Tournament, while Kania was travelling towards Kampala in a hired car.

The crash occurred between 10am and 11am when Toko attempted to overtake a slow-moving truck. His view was reportedly obscured by exhaust fumes, resulting in a collision with Kania's oncoming vehicle.

Kania, her driver and another passenger died at the scene. Toko sustained serious injuries but died while being taken to Jinja Hospital.

Toko, born in 1943, was one of Uganda's pioneering military aviators. He was among the first Ugandans to undergo jet fighter training in the 1960s and became the first Ugandan to fly a Soviet-made MiG fighter jet solo.

He later commanded the Uganda Air Force during the early years of Idi Amin's regime. His relationship with Amin deteriorated after Toko refused to recruit unqualified personnel as jet pilots, eventually leading to his departure from military command.

After the July 1985 coup that overthrew Milton Obote, Toko became the de facto Vice President and Vice Chairman of the Military Council under Gen. Tito Okello Lutwa. He represented the government during the 1985 Nairobi Peace Talks with Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army.

Following the NRA's victory in 1986, Toko reconciled with the new government and later helped persuade insurgent groups in the West Nile region to lay down their arms.

At the time of his death, Toko was also President of the Uganda Golf Union, making his final journey to Jinja particularly connected to his work in sport.

Kania, who was born in 1950, was a senior judicial and public officer who served as Chief Magistrate in Mukono and Jinja and later as a Registrar of the High Court.

She was also a member of the Constitutional Review Commission, chaired by Prof. Frederick Ssempebwa, which was tasked with reviewing Uganda's 1995 Constitution and gathering public views on political governance, the transition to multiparty politics and legal reform.

Kania had been paralysed following a car accident in 1976 but continued to build a respected career in the judiciary and public service. Her work made her an important figure in Uganda's legal and constitutional reform process.