A festive journey that raises hard questions about children travelling alone

As the festive season gathers pace, bus parks across Uganda fill with families eager to reunite with loved ones upcountry. 

For many parents juggling tight work schedules and holiday pressure, one solution seems convenient: sending children ahead to their holiday destinations. But how safe is this choice, especially for very young children?

A few days before Christmas, Nakintu boarded a Nakasongola-bound bus, preparing herself for a four-hour journey.

Like many seasoned travellers, she packed a drink and a snack, wary of the hygiene at roadside stopovers. She boarded shortly after 8:15am, choosing a window seat that could accommodate two passengers. It had been over six months since she last visited her relatives, and she looked forward to watching the countryside roll by.

Moments later, a woman in her late 30s, whom Nakintu later refers to as 'the daring lady', stepped onto the bus with two small children, one about six years old and the other no more than four.

Without greeting or explanation, the woman directed the children to squeeze onto the seat beside Nakintu, even though it was clearly meant for only one adult.

What happened next left Nakintu stunned. The woman calmly instructed the children not to leave their seats until they reached their destination and to pass greetings to their grandmother.

Whether the children fully understood where they were going was unclear. Within seconds, the woman stepped off the bus and disappeared into the busy booking area, leaving the children behind.

“I kept wondering whether this was really their mother, or had something gone terribly wrong?” Nakintu recalls.

Her thoughts drifted to the disturbing stories of child neglect often reported in the media, and even to the suspense-filled scenes of the movie Home Alone. But this was not fiction. This was real life, unfolding on a public bus.

By 8:45am, the bus pulled out of the park and began its long journey. As it gained speed, the children shifted restlessly, clearly uncomfortable sharing a seat for such a distance.

Though small, they too deserved comfort and safety, especially on a long public journey.
Trouble struck along the way. By the time the bus reached Luwero, the younger child began vomiting and crying uncontrollably. With no parent in sight, Nakintu stepped in.

She carried the child on her lap, tried to calm him and did what any concerned adult would do for a distressed child.

“I couldn’t just sit and watch,” she says. She continued helping until the bus reached Nakasongola town, where she was to disembark. Before leaving, she alerted the bus management and asked them to take responsibility for the children for the remainder of the journey. She believes they did, but the experience has stayed with her.

Since that day, Nakintu has been haunted by one question: why would a parent allow such young children to travel alone?

While some parents argue that sending children ahead is necessary, especially during busy festive periods, Nakintu’s experience highlights the risks, illness, discomfort, fear, and exposure to strangers.

Public transport is unpredictable, and not every fellow passenger will notice, care, or intervene.

As holiday travel intensifies, her story serves as a cautionary tale. Convenience should never outweigh a child’s safety. For parents who feel desperate, experts advise arranging trusted escorts, delaying travel until an adult is available, or using services that guarantee supervised transport.

Because on a crowded festive bus, one moment of parental absence can turn a simple journey into a lasting trauma, for both the child and the strangers left to step in.