MUBENDE. What began as a mournful journey to a burial in Kassanda District turned into tragedy yesterday morning when four people were killed and at least 20 others sustained injuries in a road accident along the Mubende-Kyegegwa highway.
The crash, which police recorded at about 4:30 a.m. on September 5, occurred at Nabutiti–Kisujja in Mubende District, involving a motor vehicle registration number UBF 636F, an Isuzu Elf truck, that had been precariously carrying more than 30 mourners.
According to preliminary police findings, the vehicle—laden far beyond its capacity—lost control, veered off the tarmac and overturned, leaving four occupants dead on the spot, while scores of others were flung into roadside bushes with varying degrees of injury.
Those who perished in the accident were identified as Anold Maniriho 43, Sekubulye Richard 36, Tumuranze Enid 40, and Kobusingye Edvina 23—all residents of Kangoma ‘A’ in Rushango Town Council, Ibanda District—who, according to relatives, had set out hours earlier with the singular purpose of paying their last respects to a departed kinsman.
The injured, who range from youthful adults to the elderly, included Karuhanga James 34, Mukamohere Kellen 45, Karire Jackline 34, Mufuruko Edison, Twiine Innocent 21, Kwendera John 58, Tumwikirize Scovia 56, Tugume Medard, and Busingye Medius 53, among others whose particulars remain under verification. Several of the victims hailed from Ibanda and Kamwenge districts, and their sudden affliction has cast a pall of grief across the communities they left behind.
Wamala Regional Police spokesperson Racheal Kawala, confirmed that traffic officers swiftly responded to the distress call, cordoned off and documented the accident scene, before coordinating the evacuation of victims. “The injured were rushed to Mubende Regional Referral Hospital for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were conveyed to the hospital mortuary for post-mortem,” she said, adding that the wreckage had since been towed for mechanical inspection.
Although the full investigative report is still pending, preliminary evidence suggests that the crash was a result of careless driving, a vice which traffic authorities have repeatedly flagged as one of the leading causes of fatalities on Ugandan highways. “Efforts are underway to trace and apprehend the driver who abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene immediately after the accident,” SP Kawala noted.