Stampede as vehicle that carried Bamwoze's body catches fire

BAMWOZE    FIRE   WAKE

A stampede ensued during the wake at the home of the late Bishop Cyprian Bamwoze in Nakakabala village, Kamuli district after the limousine which took his body from Kampala caught fire.

Pasted with the number plate "Rest in peace Bamwoze," the limousine caught fire at 08:30pm on Thursday; thirty minutes after the casket had been removed and taken to the main house.

This was when Busoga Diocese Bishop, Paul Samson Naimanhe, the Clergy and mourners were engaged in passionate prayers beside the casket, when the commotion ensued, causing panic among mourners.

"The car has caught fire? Bamwoze is angry, having always said he didn't want luxuries when he dies," a female mourner said, rushing to the scene to establish what was amiss.

The fire, which originated from the bonnet before spreading underneath, threw the A-Plus staff and other local drivers into action, trying all tactics to put out the fire.

The rescue was joined by the Resident District Commissioner, also the District Chairman for security, Moses Ddumba and the DPC, Abdullah Madiri, amid motorists' to use fire extinguishers, which also seemed to be faulty or empty.

"We had to use water, break some panes and forcing the interlocked bonnet and disengage the battery," Ddumba told The New Vision, on Friday.

Termed as a technical problem, Dumba said the fire must have originated from the risen engine temperatures.

"Speaker Kadaga deployed the Parliamentary double cabin pickups which cleared the way. That translates to engine overheating, especially with long distances," Dumba said.

Normalcy returned after the fire was put out, before A-Plus deployed another limousine and the breakdown which towed the damaged one away, before midnight.

On Friday morning, the A-Plus staff declined to give a comment, as the Team leaders said: "It is not news worthy."

"There's no story here. Look, we're back on the road. Can you see a burnt car here? " he asked, before attending to his juniors.

Mechanical analysts blamed the accident to inexperience, saying that the driver erred switching off the engine on arrival, adding that he would have left it on for about twenty minutes.