Five die in Jinja-Kampala road accidents

Sep 08, 2010

EIGHT vehicles were involved in four separate accidents on the Jinja-Iganga highway, killing five people on the spot. The vehicles included five trailers, one lorry, an omnibus and a tipper truck.

By Donald Kirya

EIGHT vehicles were involved in four separate accidents on the Jinja-Iganga highway, killing five people on the spot.

The vehicles included five trailers, one lorry, an omnibus and a tipper truck. The omnibus and tipper were both unit (numberless) vehicles.

Helen Apolot, the southeastern region traffic chief, said the three accidents, which involved seven vehicles occurred near William Primary School in Kakira.

She explained that the fourth accident involved a lorry, which knocked a motorcycle at Wandago, half a kilometre away from the other accident scene in Kakira.

Apolot said the lorry, which was heading to Kakira Sugar factory, knocked a boda-boda that was carrying two passengers heading to Kigandalo in Mayuge.

“The front right tyre of the sugarcane lorry burst and it swerved away from its side to the right, knocking the motorcycle and killing two people on spot,” she added. Apolot identified the dead as Farouk Dhatemwa and one identified as Nasser, both of Kigandalo in Mayuge district.

In one of the incidents, a trailer loaded with bags of salt rammed into an omnibus unit vehicle, crushing it beyond repair.

The driver of the omnibus had stopped after its driver saw a tipper unit vehicle that had broken down at Kakira.

Samuel Wambedde, a Kenyan, and Hamuza Mukose, a resident of Kisenyi, who were aboard the trailer from Mombasa, sustained injuries and were rushed to Jinja Hospital.

The second accident involved a fuel tanker, which knocked another trailer from the rear. The Police described it as minor.

“Thirty minutes later, another speeding trailer carrying wheat rammed into another one, smashing its head cabin beyond repair,” Apolot said.

She added that three occupants of the trailer belonging to Shiva Carriers, a Mombasa-based company, died on the spot. Their bodies, were cut out of the wreckage, and taken to the Jinja mortuary.

The deceased were identified as Abdullah Soppra, a Kenyan national who was the driver, Mohammed Zubali and Hussein Saidi, both Tanzanians.

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