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Lugazi Police have initiated investigations into a hit-and-run crash that has claimed four lives including that of an imam.

The incident took place on Monday, May 6, 2024, afternoon at Kasininya in Mabira forest, within the Kawolo division of Lugazi municipality, Buikwe district, along the Jinja-Kampala highway.

The victims were travelling on a motorcycle registration number UFS 468W, coming from Jinja heading to Kampala when they were knocked by an unidentified speeding vehicle.

Among the deceased were a female adult, a one-year-old baby girl and two male adults. Police identified the men as Moses Kakande, a resident of Mutundwe in Rubaga division, Kampala district, who was the rider of the motorcycle and Makanga Lutu, the Imam of Mabango Mosque in Najjembe division, Buikwe district.

The bodies were transported to Kawolo Hospital mortuary. Residents from Najjembe who gathered at the mortuary, recounted that Makanga had left his home in the afternoon, intending to purchase pesticides for his tomato plantation in Lugazi town. Tragically, he died approximately one kilometre away from his residence.

Najjembe residents gathered at Kawolo Hospital mortuary were the four bodies including that of the Imam were taken for postmortem. Photo by Emmanuel Balukusa

Expressing discontent, Kiwanuka Willy, the councillor of Najjembe at the Buikwe district council, highlighted the perilous condition of the Jinja-Kampala highway, particularly the Lugazi-Njeru section, which is filled with deep and hazardous potholes. He emphasized that numerous lives have been lost due to the deteriorating state of the highway.

In response to the incident, road users from Jinja urged Parliament to intervene, urging it to put pressure on the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) to undertake rehabilitation efforts to curb the escalating rate of road accidents.

Lugazi Police officers towed the motorcycle wreckage to Lugazi Police Station.