By Johannah Nantongo
KAPCHORWA.The death toll from Thursday night’s school bus crash in Kapchorwa District has risen to 23, including 22 children and the founder of King David Junior School, as government officials visited survivors receiving treatment in eastern Uganda.
Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi said he visited some of the injured children alongside Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations Simon Mulongo.
“We found nine children in critical condition at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, 16 children receiving treatment at Kaserem Health Centre, three children at Bulambuli Health Centre IV, and the rest at Kapchorwa Hospital,” Balaam said.
“Sadly, 20 children and one adult, who happens to be the founder and director, Mr Tadeo Ssekade, have gone to be with the Lord.”
The pupils were returning from an educational tour to Sipi Falls when the bus crashed at Chekwatit Village in Kawowo Sub-county, Kapchorwa District, at about 8:00 p.m. on Thursday.
The tragedy is among the deadliest school transport crashes in Uganda in recent years and comes amid a spate of fatal road crashes involving buses .
It followed the recent crash involving a Gulu Secondary School bus in Kigumba that killed a conductor and injured 17 students, and another crash that involved students of Amuria High School.
Uganda recorded 26,044 road crashes in 2025, up from 25,107 in 2024, according to the Uganda Police annual crime report. Of those, 4,602 were fatal, claiming more than 5,300 lives.
Police attribute more than 40 percent of crashes to reckless driving, including speeding, dangerous overtaking and tailgating.
Balaam praised residents of Tingey County, Kaserem and regional emergency teams for responding quickly to rescue the victims.
“I sincerely thank the residents of Tingey County, Kaserem, who responded immediately as first responders, together with the regional emergency teams, for their compassion, courage and tireless efforts in rescuing and caring for the victims. Your selfless service has brought hope to many families during this difficult time,” he said.
The succession of fatal crashes has intensified calls for the rollout of the revised Electronic Penalty System (EPS), which uses cameras and automated number plate recognition technology to detect speeding and other traffic violations in real time.
Government says the system will complement fewer than 2,000 traffic officers policing Uganda’s rapidly growing vehicle population, with officials arguing that continuous automated enforcement is essential to reducing preventable road deaths.