Out-of-control truck claims two lives in three-vehicle crash in Mabira

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The eerie foreboding was written on the wall — literally. Just a few feet from a roadside school poster warning motorists to 'SLOW DOWN' on the Jinja-Kampala highway, the wreckage of three vehicles illustrated just how freakishly deadly the road can be — even with visible warning signs.

In a space of only three days, this very road has claimed the lives of four people at two different spots — both in Buikwe district.

In Thursday's early morning crash at Kinoni in Mabira Forest, the hapless driver of a commuter taxi found himself on the right side of the road but on the wrong side of fate. 

An oncoming truck believed to have developed brake failure hurtled down a slope, before its desperate driver veered off his lane and crashed head-on into the oncoming taxi.

Tragically, the taxi driver and another passenger died instantly, Ssezibwa regional Police spokesperson Hellen Butoto told New Vision.

Kinoni is a renowned black spot.

Butoto said that after ramming into the taxi, the marauding killer truck continued forward and hit another taxi. The force of the impact sent the smaller vehicle crashing into the roadside trench.

Incredibly, nine people managed to survive this three-vehicle wreck that happened a few minutes before 8am.

The other two drivers and seven occupants of the taxi that was hit first sustained serious injuries and were taken to Kawolo Hospital in Buikwe district for emergency attention.

The bodies of the dead driver and passenger, who were not immediately identified, were taken to the mortuary of the same facility for postmortem examination, Police said.

Butoto identified the driver of the truck as 30-year-old Paul Mpandi, a resident of Namawojjolo in Mukono district, who was driving from Kampala towards Jinja at the time of the tragic crash.

The driver of the third vehicle was identified as Swaibu Kasoma, 43-year-old resident of Kireka in Wakiso district.

Police identified the other injured as:

▪️David Oguta Junior (45) from Bugembe in Jinja city

▪️Badru Kamale (30) from Kalerwe in Kampala

▪️Emmanuel Mugenyi (30) from  Entebbe

▪️Shivani Kyomugisha (19) from Kiyolwa in Buikwe district

▪️Medieval Musoke (40) from Mutundwe in Kampala

▪️ Yusuf Sseluwagi (45) from Busia district

▪️Flavia Nakibule (27) from Busia district

Police detained the driver of the truck to assist with ongoing investigations into the crash.

Butoto said preliminary findings pointed to mechanical failure as the likely cause of the carnage. She urged motorists to ensure their vehicles are roadworthy for all sections of the roads: whether hills, slopes or flat surfaces.

On Tuesday, Police in Buikwe reported the death of two people in a crash along the same highway in Mabira Forest. Three others survived with injuries.

According to the 2025 Annual Crime Report, road crashes remained a leading cause of death in Uganda. 

Police registered a total of 322,441 cases in 2025 compared to 426,432 in 2024, which marked a decrease of 24.4 percent.