Another 20 perish in road tragedies
Jan 27, 2007
Road carnage again claimed 20 lives in two separate accidents in Bugiri and Mukono districts in the past two days.
By Moses Nampala and George Bita
in Bugiri
Road carnage again claimed 20 lives in two separate accidents in Bugiri and Mukono districts in the past two days.
Earlier this week, another 14 travellers were killed and 68 wounded in two bus accidents.
On Thursday night, 18 people died when a minibus collided with a trailer at Namayemba on the Bugiri-Busia highway.
The heavily-loaded trailer later ran over the minibus, dismembering and killing all occupants. Of the dead, 13 were men, three women and two boys.
The driver of the trailer and his tout survived but were admitted at Bugiri hospital with serious injuries.
Christopher Kubai, the South Eastern Regional Police Commander, said both vehicles were speeding at the time of the accident, which took place at 8:00pm.
Eyewitnesses told Police that the minibus hit a pothole, prompting the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Police was told that the minibus swayed from the left to the right, colliding with the trailer that came from the opposite direction.
The road was closed for two hours, the time it took the rescuers to remove the bodies from the wreckage with axes. The Police used wooden boxes to carry some of the body parts. The bodies were later taken to Bugiri hospital mortuary.
Among the dead were Gastus Wandera, a pastor from Busia, Zakayo Ngeyuwa, a district councillor from Bugiri, the driver Ali Abdalla and his turnboy, John Kitende. Other deceased passengers were Joseph Ouma, Eseza Basalirwa and Zakaria Mwangi, a Kenyan national.
On Friday morning, another tragedy struck on the Kampala-Jinja road, when a Good Samaritan tried to rescue the driver from an overturned fuel tanker, only to die along with him when the tanker caught fire.
Driver Abdulahi Elmi, 40, tried to avoid collusion with a Toyota vehicle that was overtaking a lorry in Najjembe village. In the process, he lost control of the vehicle and overturned it, blocking the Jinja-Kampala road.
Godfrey Walusimbi (30), a chicken seller at Najjembe market, rushed to the scene to try and save the driver but was trapped by the fire in the process.
“The driver cried out for help and as Walusimbi tried to pull him out, the tanker caught fire,†a witness said.
James Aurien, the Mukono district Police commander, said the turnboy of the tanker, Farahan and a couple travelling in the Toyota escaped with serious injuries.
The couple is admitted at Mulago hospital, while Farahan was taken to Najjembe health centre.
A fire brigade truck from Jinja, which arrived at the scene at 8:00am, ran out of foam as it tried to stop the wild fires, which burned down crops over a stretch of one kilometre.
Consequently, traffic on the Kampala-Jinja highway had to be diverted.
Aurien warned residents against rushing to accident scenes involving tankers.
“About 40 residents had to flee for safety as the tanker caught fire. They would be dead bodies by now,†he said.
in Bugiri
Road carnage again claimed 20 lives in two separate accidents in Bugiri and Mukono districts in the past two days.
Earlier this week, another 14 travellers were killed and 68 wounded in two bus accidents.
On Thursday night, 18 people died when a minibus collided with a trailer at Namayemba on the Bugiri-Busia highway.
The heavily-loaded trailer later ran over the minibus, dismembering and killing all occupants. Of the dead, 13 were men, three women and two boys.
The driver of the trailer and his tout survived but were admitted at Bugiri hospital with serious injuries.
Christopher Kubai, the South Eastern Regional Police Commander, said both vehicles were speeding at the time of the accident, which took place at 8:00pm.
Eyewitnesses told Police that the minibus hit a pothole, prompting the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Police was told that the minibus swayed from the left to the right, colliding with the trailer that came from the opposite direction.
The road was closed for two hours, the time it took the rescuers to remove the bodies from the wreckage with axes. The Police used wooden boxes to carry some of the body parts. The bodies were later taken to Bugiri hospital mortuary.
Among the dead were Gastus Wandera, a pastor from Busia, Zakayo Ngeyuwa, a district councillor from Bugiri, the driver Ali Abdalla and his turnboy, John Kitende. Other deceased passengers were Joseph Ouma, Eseza Basalirwa and Zakaria Mwangi, a Kenyan national.
On Friday morning, another tragedy struck on the Kampala-Jinja road, when a Good Samaritan tried to rescue the driver from an overturned fuel tanker, only to die along with him when the tanker caught fire.
Driver Abdulahi Elmi, 40, tried to avoid collusion with a Toyota vehicle that was overtaking a lorry in Najjembe village. In the process, he lost control of the vehicle and overturned it, blocking the Jinja-Kampala road.
Godfrey Walusimbi (30), a chicken seller at Najjembe market, rushed to the scene to try and save the driver but was trapped by the fire in the process.
“The driver cried out for help and as Walusimbi tried to pull him out, the tanker caught fire,†a witness said.
James Aurien, the Mukono district Police commander, said the turnboy of the tanker, Farahan and a couple travelling in the Toyota escaped with serious injuries.
The couple is admitted at Mulago hospital, while Farahan was taken to Najjembe health centre.
A fire brigade truck from Jinja, which arrived at the scene at 8:00am, ran out of foam as it tried to stop the wild fires, which burned down crops over a stretch of one kilometre.
Consequently, traffic on the Kampala-Jinja highway had to be diverted.
Aurien warned residents against rushing to accident scenes involving tankers.
“About 40 residents had to flee for safety as the tanker caught fire. They would be dead bodies by now,†he said.