KASESE | BODABODA CRUSH | KILLS 3-YEAR-OLD

A three-year-old baby girl has died on the spot and her two siblings were critically injured in a road crash in Kasese municipality.

The tragedy occurred on Tuesday morning at Kirembe on the Kasese-Mbarara highway, as they were heading to school aboard a bodaboda.

Confirming the grisly incident, Jonard Makoma, the municipality’s central division vice-chairperson, identified the dead toddler as Shillah Biira, a pupil at Young Star Junior School in Kidodo.

Makoma also identified her injured siblings as Shakilah Muhindo, 7, and Miraji Bwambale, 6, both pupils at Kasese Muslim Nursery and Primary school.

The accident, according to Makoma, happened at Kyababinga junction when an unknown bodaboda rider, carrying the children, swung into the highway without looking at either side and was knocked by a speeding vehicle.

“I implore bodaboda riders to guard against speeding. Parents should also avoid loading motorcycles with more than two children,” Makoma said.

Meresi Kabugho, the mother of the crash victims, told the media that the bodaboda rider had picked up her children at her home in the morning only to receive the sad news minutes later.

“The bodaboda rider picked them up at about 6:00 am, saying he wanted to beat the rain. "As I was digging a little distance away from my home, I got a call from someone informing me about the bad news,” Kabugho said.

The body and the survivors were rushed to Mt St Mary’s Hospital in Kasese municipality.

However, a health worker on duty at the hospital identified only as Laurent said the critically injured children were fortunately out of danger.

“We received the deceased and her two injured siblings at about 6:30 a.m. The child was already dead so we treated the body and handed it over to the family. We are treating the injured,” he said.