The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The three people who were killed in an accident involving six motor vehicles along Bukoto-Kisasi road were employees of Kati-Kati restaurant. The trio was killed and several others injured when a Sino truck registration number UAZ 164D lost control and rammed into six other vehicles on the slope to Kisaasi at around 9 pm on Saturday.
The deceased have been identified as Kumarah Verenah, the manager Kati-Kati Restaurant, Mukaneh, a chef, both Indians and a Ugandan chef, Amos Kato. Two other employees identified as Satis and Venodh are battling for their lives at Victoria hospital in Bukoto. Kenney Alumwadi who was driving the deceased is also admitted at Victoria hospital.
He told URN on his sickbed that they were returning from work at around 9 pm when the accident occurred. According to Alumwadi, they were sloping close to the northern-bypass when the truck lost control and rammed into them. He says the truck pushed them into the trench where most of his colleagues breathed their last because of delayed rescue.
Michael Kasingye, a boda-boda rider on Bukoto stage says everyone was concerned with how the truck was loaded with construction material when it bypassed them at around 8:45 pm. He says a few minutes later, his friend who was heading to Kisaasi called to inform him that the truck had rammed into several vehicles and many people were dead.
The truck crashed several other vehicles including a Subaru UBF 722M, Volvo UBF 103D, Ipsum UBF 722M, Mercedes Benz UBE 932H, Premio UAZ 546F and Noah UAX 153S. A traffic police officer at Kira road police station who participated in the retrieval of the victims says the Sino truck was in dangerous mechanical condition.
He explained that the heavy load of the building materials was a very big risk on such a slope. Earlier on Sunday, the Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigyire told journalists that the deceased’s bodies were lying at city mortuary Mulago pending postmortem. He says they had also launched a manhunt for the driver of the Sino truck who is still at large.
On Wednesday last week, two people died in an accident at Global paints junction in Kireka along Kampala-Jinja Highway. The two were riding on a motorcycle when they were crushed by an Isuzu truck heading to Kampala. At least 3,880 people died in road accidents in 2019 while 9,635 survived with serious injuries. Another 1,175 got minor injuries, according to Traffic police records.
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May their souls RIP. It is about time vehicle roadworthy testing is resumed. For how long shall we bury loved ones because of vehicles which are not roadworthy? The testing which was being done by SGS had put vehicle owners on alert but with its suspension vehicle owners have relaxed. We may cry that the SGS contract was not done right but surely the cost of lost lives due to DMC Vehicles does not justify its suspension.
I fault the MPs and Parliament that failed the SGS operations.