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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Eight people have been killed and nine injured in an accident along the Jinja-Kamuli highway.
The accident which occurred on Sunday involved a commuter taxi registration number, UAZ 861J from Jinja district that lost control after a tyre burst, knocking a motorcycle carrying two passengers who died instantly.
The driver then lost control and knocked an electric pole in Nawantumbi village, killing six passengers.
One of the eyewitnesses, Yakutu Waiswa, says that the driver was over speeding.
“The driver was speeding and failed to limit speed even when he reached our trading centre which is highly populated with a lot of motorists,” he says.
Fatuma Nakyanze, a survivor says that the taxi had loaded passengers beyond its capacity.
“The taxi had loaded 18 passengers instead of the recommended 14, and when it overturned, some failed to jump out and suffocated due to congestion,” she says.
The Busoga North police spokesperson, Michael Kasadha says that the injured have been admitted at Kamuli Hospital.
Earlier in the day, four people were killed in an accident in Bugiri District.
The accident occurred on Sunday at 5:30 am at Nakawa located in Busowa town along the Iganga-Tororo Highway.
According to an eye witness Besweri Kawanguzi, the accident involved a Modern Coast Bus with personalized number plates Modern 3 that was coming from Kenya and a trailer registration number ZE 2344 from Kampala.
Kawanguzi says that driver of the trailer lost control and rammed into the Bus, which was carrying 40 passengers.
The in-charge Bugiri traffic police, Hopkins Twesiga says that two passengers in the bus died on spot while the driver and turn boy of the trailer died on the way to Bugiri Hospital.
According to Twesiga, the identities of the dead could not be established. He also says that bottles of waragi were found in the trailer.
“As police we are yet to identify the exact cause of the accident because we have impounded some bottles of waragi in the trailer and suspect that the driver was drunk,” he said.
The survivors are currently admitted at Bugiri hospital. They include Helen Lunyoro, Kalele Fauzia, Adrian Migadde, Lamula Nansubuga, Joseph Mwanja and Kairu Kairu.
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