Buikwe accident: Driver was trying to save bodoboda cyclist

BUIKWE - It was an ordinary Monday evening with passengers aboard a YY company bus headed for eastern Uganda. 

As the bus cruised on the usually traffic-free Mukono-Nyenga highway, no one knew that tragedy would strike the moment it reached Makindu village in Buikwe district at 5:00pm. 

In the process of the driver trying to avoid knocking a bodaboda rider and a cow, the Scania bus, registration number UAV 701C, overturned and burst into flames. 
According to the Police, at least three people perished on the spot, while 64 survived with injuries. 

The Police said Kawolo Hospital received 18 casualties, while St. Francis Hospital Nyenga attended to 11 victims. 

St. Charles Lwanga Buikwe Hospital received 15 casualties, and seven of them were still admitted by press time. 

Makindu Health Centre II handled 20 patients, although none were admitted. 
“We did not admit any patient,” Ritah Namukisa, the in-charge of Makindu Health Centre II in Buikwe district, said.

Skid marks, lost control 

On the tarmac, dark skid marks stretched several metres before the final resting place of the smouldering wreck — evidence of a desperate attempt to brake. 

The Traffic Police said those marks support preliminary findings that the driver, moving at high speed, lost control as he tried to avoid a sudden obstacle. 

The weight and momentum of the fully loaded vehicle made recovery impossible. 

“The vehicle was travelling at a high speed when the driver encountered a bodaboda that abruptly entered the main road from a feeder near the Katosi roundabout,” a traffic Police officer who was among the first respondents to the scene, said. 

“At the same time, he was also dodging a cow and bodaboda rider carrying firewood. In that chaos, he forced the brakes, lost control and the bus overturned, bursting into flames.” 

In a statement to the press, Michael Kananura, the Traffic Police spokesperson, said: “It overturned and caught fi re, resulting in the death of people, who are yet to be identified and injuries to multiple passengers who have been rushed to Kawolo Hospital, St. Francis Lwanga Hospital in Buikwe and other nearby health facilities, where they are currently receiving medical attention.” 

The crash took place along an alternate route frequently used by long-distance drivers to avoid the notorious potholes and congestion on Jinja Road, particularly around the Mabira Forest section. John Bazi, the manager of YY Coaches, confirmed that the ill-fated bus had taken the Buikwe route to bypass traffic. 

“Our drivers often go through the Mukono-Nyenga-Njeru highway to avoid the traffic jam and deep potholes in Mabira forest on the old road,” Bazi told journalists at a press briefing. He condoled with the families of the deceased on behalf of the company and dismissed reports that more people could have died. 

“We pray for the injured and pledge to cooperate with the Police during the investigations. If the Government had repaired the Jinja Road through Mabira, this tragedy might never have happened,” Bazi said.

Tale of heroism 

Among the survivors was 68-year-old Mary Katisi, travelling to Mbale to visit her grandchildren. She recounted her ordeal from her hospital bed at Kawolo. 

“I felt the bus tilt. People screamed. Then fire. I saw flames everywhere. A man appeared from nowhere, stood on top of the overturned bus, pulled me through a broken window. He also saved a baby — about two years old. I don’t know who he was, but he was sent by God,” Katisi said, her voice trembling. 

She paused, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. “The child’s mother — no one knows where she is. That baby cried until they took it away.” 

The man’s identity remains unknown, but several survivors mentioned a “young man in a black T-shirt” who saved at least four people before disappearing into the crowd. Isaac Lugudde said he managed to save only 11 passengers from the inferno.
 
“The fire started small, but quickly intensified. Within minutes, the flames were too strong and we could not continue with the rescue,” he said. “The fire brigade arrived too late and by then, many passengers had already been burnt,” Lugudde added.

Searching for ashes 

Alex Musimbi, a lawyer, spent Monday night and Tuesday morning combing hospitals with his relatives searching for his father Canon James Musimbi, the chairperson of Manafwa district service commission. 

“We checked Kawolo Hospital, St Charles Lwanga Nyenga, and even Mulago Hospital. No record. We finally went to the scene,” Musimbi said with emotion. 

“What we found were ashes, teeth. Nothing else. It will take DNA test to confirm,” he said.

Additional reporting by Paul Watala