By Gad Masereka
Namutumba: Over ten people were left lifeless and many with severe wounds in a Sunday 18 August evening road accident in the Eastern Ugandan District of Namutumba.
The accident occurred at around 6.40 pm, at Bukonte village, (located 5 kms from Namutumba and 25 kms from Iganga), along the Iganga-Mbale Highway.
Eye witness said, the accident was caused by a speeding taxi that failed to overtake another commuter taxi that was also heading towards Namutumba from Iganga hence crashing into the bus in the opposite lane.
According to James Mubi, the Busoga East Police Spokesperson, the accident resulted from a head-on collision between a one YY coach registration number UAX 852F and a taxi registration number UAV 689E.
“Nine out of the 10 passengers who were aboard the taxi died instantly, whereas the other surviving passengers were rushed to Iganga General Hospital for further management,” he said.
Mubi added that Uganda police is still on the ground to ascertain the total number of injured victims. “Some bodies have been shattered really bad it’s hard to recognize them but we are working with the recovered phones to ensure that bodies are handed over to the relatives,” he added.
Namutumba District Police Commander Eratu Ojukuna said preliminary investigations indicate that the bus driver was driving recklessly.
“He overtook at a blind spot ramming into the oncoming commuter taxi. As is usually the case with head-on collisions, the smaller vehicle is affected most,” he said.
Just a week ago, two people were killed and more than 40 others got injured when a YY bus lost control and overturned at Busei B village, three kilometres along the Iganga-Bugiri highway.
