Over 30 Kenyans from Namugongo hospitalised after bus overturns in Tororo

More than 30 Kenyan nationals are receiving treatment at Tororo General Hospital after the bus they were travelling in overturned on Wednesday, June 4.

The incident occurred at UCI cell in Osukuru town council, a few kilometres from the Uganda-Kenya border on the Malaba–Jinja highway.

The vehicle involved was a Kasima Mixed Secondary School bus, registration number KCQ05Q, from Nyahuru County in Kenya. It was reportedly carrying 51 passengers returning from Namugongo when it was struck by a yet-to-be-identified truck, causing it to overturn.

According to eyewitnesses and the bus driver, the incident occurred as the bus attempted to give way to a speeding truck approaching from behind.

Evelyn Kisakye, an eyewitness, said, “Both the bus and the truck were coming from Jinja towards Tororo, but the truck was going very fast. When the bus tried to give way, it went off the road and overturned.”

The bus driver, Charles Theuri, who sustained minor injuries, explained that they had departed the Namugongo Catholic Martyrs Shrine at 4:00am and were only minutes from crossing the border when the incident happened.

"I have been driving slowly from where we had yesterday's Martyrs Day celebrations, but when we got here, the truck, coming at terrible speed from behind, didn't consider how narrow the road was and hit us by side, causing the accident," Theuri said.

He added that the truck did not stop after causing the crash.

At least 35 of the 51 passengers were rushed to Tororo General Hospital with injuries ranging from minor to critical.

Tororo district traffic officer Aisat Nandutu confirmed the accident and said that the police traffic unit in Tororo has launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash and trace the truck responsible.