The bus wreckage after the accident
At least sixteen people have perished in an accident that occurred in Kamdini, along the Kampala-Gulu highway in Oyam district, northern Uganda last night.
A bus reg no. UAT 259P which belongs to Roblyn Bus Company was travelling from Kampala to Gulu when it rammed into a stationary trailer at around midnight. The trailer was loading cassava at Adebe trading centre – just one kilometre to corner Kamdini checkpoint.
Stephen Apunyo, an eyewitness says that the bus was overspeeding when the tragedy occurred. Patrick Jimmy Okema, the North Kyoga Police spokesperson said that 11 people died on the spot while four others died at the hospital. Another body was this morning found at the accident scene. He added that the cause of the accident is yet to be established.
“Preliminary findings indicate wrong parking by the trailer driver with no warning signs,” he said. The injured were taken to Pope John the XXIII Hospital Aber in Oyam and St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu.
The country has recorded an unprecedented number of accidents over the festive season, which, according to police records claimed more than 90 lives in a space of two weeks. 35 of these died in two days between December 31, 2022, and January 1, 2023, while 55 people lost lives in 206 crushes that took place during the Christmas week.
Source: The Observer