Kapchorwa crash: 105 children reunite with their parents
By Saturday, July 18, a total of 80 children with multiple injuries remained admitted in Kapchorwa and Mbale referral hospitals following the tragic bus accident at Kaserem along the Kapchorwa–Mbale Road on Thursday night.
Acting Minister of Education and Sports, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, visits King David Junior School. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba)
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A total of 105 pupils of King David Junior School who were part of the ill-fated school trip to Kapchorwa have reunited with their parents in Kampala.
The emotional exercise by the joint task force team, supervised by the Uganda Police Force (UPF), which started on Friday night, concluded at 1:00am on Saturday, July 18, at the Makindye–Sabagabo municipality complex.
Wakiso district Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mbabazi, District Chairperson, Ian Kyeyune, Wakiso Woman District Parliamentary Representative, Ethel Naluyima and officials from the municipality, some teachers of the affected school, were among the group that oversaw the screening and handing over of the children to their parents. Dr Aisha Namale Kayongo, UPF liaison officer, said the priority was to reunite survivors with their families. She added that proof of parenthood or guardianship was mandatory during the exercise.
During an interview on Saturday in Makindye–Sabagabo municipality, spokesperson Emmanuel Kato revealed that all the pupils and the teachers had been accounted for.
The group used two buses and two vans for the three-day trip.
A parent is comforted following the incident. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba)
(Photo by Nicholas Kajoba)
By Saturday, July 18, a total of 80 children with multiple injuries remained admitted in Kapchorwa and Mbale referral hospitals following the tragic bus accident at Kaserem along the Kapchorwa–Mbale Road on Thursday night.
Police reports state that 24 pupils, including the school’s director, died; among them, 18 bodies have been identified, and 6 bodies are unidentified at Kapchorwa and Mbale hospitals.
“Whereas parents are going through tough moments, some of them ignored advice and picked the children without getting approval from the hospital authorities. They should use medically supervised procedures while transferring the injured children to Kampala to further treatment,“ he said.
Kato also faulted the school for failing to adhere to the ministry’s guidance on trips, which was issued early before the school term opened.
“We have inspected all these schools before they opened for this term and even issued a circular from the ministry on the guidance for the schools' trips, but most of them did not adhere to it,” Kato said.
He gave a reference, where Makindye- Sabagabo municipality education officer, Pauline Nsangi, during her inspection this month, stopped the ill-fated school trip.
“Municipality education officer, Nsangi Pauline, during her inspection of the school, saw the advertisement of the trip on the school's notice board. She met the director of the school and advised him to cancel the trip because he had failed to comply with the ministry’s guidelines,” Kato said.