By George Bukenya
Police has revealed that a fatal crash that claimed lives of six people including a driver and injuring 37 other occupants along Mbarara –Masaka highway was due to unsafe overtaking at even a high speed.
According to the Traffic Police spokes person Michael Kananura, the crash occurred when a bus registration number UBQ 621Z tried to overtake the Fuso Lorry number UBM 673K collided at Kyazanga-Lwengo District.
Kananura said that the collision occurred around 4 a.m. when the Gateway bus registration number UBQ 621Z attempted to overtake the Fuso lorry number UBM 673K on a sharp corner, leading into a head on crash.
According to eyewitnesses, the bus driver’s reckless attempt to overtake the lorry on the curve was the primary cause of the accident.
“The bus driver attempted to overtake the lorry, unaware that another lorry was approaching from the opposite direction,” Mustapha Kasole reveals
Witnesses, survivors, and police reports all corroborated that the bus driver, identified as Batambuze Nayi also deceased appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
“We kept urging him to slow down, but he ignored our warnings until he collided with the lorry,” said Anord Mwesigwa a survivor of the crash.
In the immediate aftermath of the collision, chaos ensued as some opportunists took advantage of the situation, robbing passengers and stealing flour from the lorry.
The situation was further complicated by the initial lack of an immediate emergency response from the police.
Survivors were rushed to Joy for Humanity Hospital in Kyazanga, where they are currently receiving treatment. Nalukwago Fifi, the in-charge at the hospital, confirmed that over 20 patients, including two Japanese nationals, were admitted and are responding well to treatment.
“We rushed to pick up the victims from the accident scene because the police ambulance was delayed. Thankfully, most of them are now stabilizing,” Nalukwago Fifi, the in-charge at the hospital said.
This accident is part of a worrying trend on the Masaka-Mbarara road, where the death toll has risen to 10 in the past week alone. Just days before, four lives were lost in another fatal incident when a vehicle, uninvolved in the initial collision, crashed into another car, resulting in severe fatalities.
Motorists and residents in Lwengo are calling for stricter penalties for bus drivers, citing increasing carelessness and the growing number of accidents on the region’s roads.
“It feels like these bus drivers think they’re above the law. Even when they cause accidents, if they survive, they’re back behind the wheel in a different bus the next day, without facing any legal or disciplinary action from their companies,” motorists say.
Meanwhile another earlier fatal crash occurred on 17th August, 2024 at Kiwawu along Mityana- Kampala road also claimed lives of five people. The accident involved a toyota Ipsum registration number UAS 999R and Fuso box body number UBM 511K.
The traffic police mouth piece Kananura also informed reporters in a press conference at Naguru Police Headquarters that investigations revealed that the driver of Impsum was trying to dodge a pothole and this lead him to the other wrong side where he met the lorry and collided with it head-on killing all the five occupants in the Ipsum instantly and injuring the Fuso driver.
In weekly traffic report on crashes, Kananura also revealed from 11-17th August, 2024, a total of 76 people died and355 got injured. Of these 24 were motor cyclist,19 pedestrians , 16 passengers on motor cycles , 5 drivers while other 5 were bicycle ridders and 4 others.