Bus company director charged over fatal Kapchorwa school trip crash

A director of Liberty Motors Uganda Limited has been arrested and remanded to prison over a fatal road accident that claimed the lives of pupils of King David Junior School in Kapchorwa district last month.

Police have so far recorded 24 deaths from the incident.

Shadayo Muhangi, 52, a resident of Kitewululizi zone, Mutundwe, in Rubaga division, Kampala district, was charged with three counts under the Traffic and Road Safety Act after investigations implicated him in the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The accident occurred at Chekwatit, Kawowo subcounty in Kapchorwa district, on the evening of July 16, 2026, at around 7:45 pm, when a bus carrying the pupils was involved in a crash that left several people dead.

According to a police report seen by New Vision Online, police deployed a team of traffic investigators from Police Headquarters in Naguru to reinforce local investigators in Kapchorwa district in a joint effort to establish the cause of the crash and identify all responsible parties.

"The joint team has been conducting comprehensive investigations aimed at establishing the cause of the crash and identifying all responsible parties," the report states.

The investigations led to the arrest of Muhangi, one of the directors of Liberty Motors Uganda Limited, the company associated with the bus involved in the crash.

He was subsequently charged with the following offences:

• Permitting driving without a valid driving licence, contrary to Section 32(2) of the Traffic and Road Safety Act, Cap. 347.

• Permitting the use of a motor vehicle for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward when not licensed to do so, contrary to Section 97(1)(a) of the Traffic and Road Safety Act, Cap. 347.

• Permitting the use of a motor vehicle on the road while not in a roadworthy condition, contrary to Section 99(1) and (5) of the Traffic and Road Safety Act, Cap. 347.

Muhangi appeared before the Kapchorwa Chief Magistrate's Court, presided over by His Worship Martin Wakayemba, where all three charges were read to him.

The court remanded him until August 13, 2026, when the matter will return for further mention.

In the report, police sought to reassure the public, particularly the families of the bereaved, that investigations into the crash are ongoing and that justice will take its course.

"We wish to assure the public, particularly the bereaved families, that investigations are ongoing and that justice will take its course," police said.

Police also issued a broader warning to motor vehicle owners, operators and drivers against putting mechanically defective or unroadworthy vehicles on the road, and cautioned vehicle owners against allowing unlicensed individuals to drive.

"Such negligence endangers human life, and the safety of all road users, and those found in breach of the law will be held accountable," the report warns.