Accidents kill three, 47 injured
Jan 28, 2010
FOUR people died and over 47 sustained injuries in a series of accidents across the country since Tuesday evening. In one accident, a man died on the spot when a Kampala-bound bus overturned at Katalemwa in Wakiso district, according to the Police.
By Herbert Ssempogo
and Daniel Edyegu
FOUR people died and over 47 sustained injuries in a series of accidents across the country since Tuesday evening.
In one accident, a man died on the spot when a Kampala-bound bus overturned at Katalemwa in Wakiso district, according to the Police.
Kawempe Police station boss Moses Ochieng said the driver lost control when his bus, owned by transport company Gaaga, missed a turn in the early morning hours yesterday.
Apollo Male, a resident of Buikwe in Mukono district, died on the spot as the vehicle rolled several times. A total of 38 people were injured.
Ochieng attributed the accident to recklessness and speeding. He said the driver, only identified as Jodrio, was being held at Kawempe.
“He is going to be interrogated over recklessness and causing an accident,†Ochieng stated.
The injured were rushed to Mulago Hospital. Among them was Paul Kanukula, a policeman attached to the Central Police Station in Kampala. “I was dozing when we approached the accident place. Suddenly, I realised that I had fallen off my seat,†he told The New Vision, adding that he lost a bag containing his items.
The second accident, in which a bus rammed into a stationary truck, occurred on Tuesday night at Kule junction, close to Mpigi, on the Kampala-Masaka road.
The Police used heavy equipment to free passengers from the vehicle that was heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo via Rwanda.
Injured passengers, several of them Congolese, were taken to Mulago Hospital. One of them died upon arrival at Mulago. Eyewitnesses put the number of wounded at 40.
At the same spot, the driver of a Fuso truck lost control. His vehicle hit three others, including a taxi in which four passengers were trapped, among them one Kyambadde and Steven Kasagga.
In a separate incident in Mbale, a soldier died and seven others were injured when their vehicle crashed at Bumboi village in Bungoko Mutoto sub-county.
The 3rd Division spokeman, Capt. Henry Obbo, said the soldiers were returning to Bugema barracks from the NRM 24th anniversary celebrations, held on Tuesday in Mbale.
According to Obbo, the evening accident occurred at an ‘S’ shaped corner near a steep hill, adding that the cause of the accident was being investigated.
However, witnesses said the driver suddenly stepped on the brakes and the vehicle spun out of control.
“The soldiers slid through the hind door and fell on the road,†a resident narrated.
At Mbale Hospital where the survivors were rushed, the staff argued with the soldiers who wanted to carry their colleagues to Rubongi army health unit in Tororo.
“These people have sustained injuries on the chest and head. It is not logical to transfer a patient in critical condition from a referral hospital to a health centre,†a doctor argued.
Those injured in the Gaaga accident included Olivia Nakuwuki, 26, John Katongole, 30, Stephen Kasagga, 34, Janet Nakibuule, 31, Kenneth Kukiriza, 24, Zabibu Bako, 20, Jamila Ezati, Gordon Kongo, M. Ochan, Moses Nhial, Zainabu Babirye, Godfrey Mugadya, B. Obeti and Derrick Bua Ayiko.
Also injured were David Andabati, Laura Alesi, Paul Kanukula, J. Mungu, Jacob Jok, Stephen Sserugo, Isa Kiggundu, Moses Ssentongo, Veero Anderu, Nic Amayo, Moses Kenneth, Francis Fego and Elisa Amando.
Others were Eunice Tumba, Alio Bazame, Gabriel Azabo, Rose Abiga and Jamida Mukesimana.
and Daniel Edyegu
FOUR people died and over 47 sustained injuries in a series of accidents across the country since Tuesday evening.
In one accident, a man died on the spot when a Kampala-bound bus overturned at Katalemwa in Wakiso district, according to the Police.
Kawempe Police station boss Moses Ochieng said the driver lost control when his bus, owned by transport company Gaaga, missed a turn in the early morning hours yesterday.
Apollo Male, a resident of Buikwe in Mukono district, died on the spot as the vehicle rolled several times. A total of 38 people were injured.
Ochieng attributed the accident to recklessness and speeding. He said the driver, only identified as Jodrio, was being held at Kawempe.
“He is going to be interrogated over recklessness and causing an accident,†Ochieng stated.
The injured were rushed to Mulago Hospital. Among them was Paul Kanukula, a policeman attached to the Central Police Station in Kampala. “I was dozing when we approached the accident place. Suddenly, I realised that I had fallen off my seat,†he told The New Vision, adding that he lost a bag containing his items.
The second accident, in which a bus rammed into a stationary truck, occurred on Tuesday night at Kule junction, close to Mpigi, on the Kampala-Masaka road.
The Police used heavy equipment to free passengers from the vehicle that was heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo via Rwanda.
Injured passengers, several of them Congolese, were taken to Mulago Hospital. One of them died upon arrival at Mulago. Eyewitnesses put the number of wounded at 40.
At the same spot, the driver of a Fuso truck lost control. His vehicle hit three others, including a taxi in which four passengers were trapped, among them one Kyambadde and Steven Kasagga.
In a separate incident in Mbale, a soldier died and seven others were injured when their vehicle crashed at Bumboi village in Bungoko Mutoto sub-county.
The 3rd Division spokeman, Capt. Henry Obbo, said the soldiers were returning to Bugema barracks from the NRM 24th anniversary celebrations, held on Tuesday in Mbale.
According to Obbo, the evening accident occurred at an ‘S’ shaped corner near a steep hill, adding that the cause of the accident was being investigated.
However, witnesses said the driver suddenly stepped on the brakes and the vehicle spun out of control.
“The soldiers slid through the hind door and fell on the road,†a resident narrated.
At Mbale Hospital where the survivors were rushed, the staff argued with the soldiers who wanted to carry their colleagues to Rubongi army health unit in Tororo.
“These people have sustained injuries on the chest and head. It is not logical to transfer a patient in critical condition from a referral hospital to a health centre,†a doctor argued.
Those injured in the Gaaga accident included Olivia Nakuwuki, 26, John Katongole, 30, Stephen Kasagga, 34, Janet Nakibuule, 31, Kenneth Kukiriza, 24, Zabibu Bako, 20, Jamila Ezati, Gordon Kongo, M. Ochan, Moses Nhial, Zainabu Babirye, Godfrey Mugadya, B. Obeti and Derrick Bua Ayiko.
Also injured were David Andabati, Laura Alesi, Paul Kanukula, J. Mungu, Jacob Jok, Stephen Sserugo, Isa Kiggundu, Moses Ssentongo, Veero Anderu, Nic Amayo, Moses Kenneth, Francis Fego and Elisa Amando.
Others were Eunice Tumba, Alio Bazame, Gabriel Azabo, Rose Abiga and Jamida Mukesimana.