Over 30 Kenyan nationals are receiving treatment at Tororo General Hospital following a serious road accident involving a school bus that overturned near the Uganda-Kenya border on Wednesday morning.
The incident occurred at UCI Cell in Osukuru Town Council along the Malaba-Jinja highway, when a bus belonging to Kasima Mixed Secondary School (registration number KCQ 05Q) lost control and overturned. The vehicle was ferrying 51 passengers from the Namugongo Martyrs Day celebrations back to Kenya.
Eyewitnesses at the scene recounted that the bus was attempting to avoid a speeding truck when the crash happened.
"Both the bus and the truck were coming from Jinja heading toward Tororo," said one witness. "The truck was moving very fast. As the bus driver tried to give way, it veered off the road and overturned."
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Charles Theuri, the bus driver, who sustained minor injuries, said they had left Namugongo Martyrs Shrine at 4:00 a.m. and were nearing the border when the accident occurred.
"I had been driving cautiously since we left the Martyrs Day celebrations. But as we approached this point, a truck sped from behind and clipped us as I was trying to give way due to the narrow road. The impact forced us off the road," Theuri explained. He expressed frustration that the truck driver did not stop following the collision.
Authorities confirmed that 35 passengers were injured, with conditions ranging from minor to critical. Emergency services quickly responded to the scene, transporting the victims to Tororo General Hospital for treatment.
Tororo District Traffic Officer Aisat Nandutu confirmed the incident and noted that the traffic police unit had launched an investigation. "We are working to establish the full cause of the accident and are actively tracing the truck driver and the vehicle involved," she stated.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about road safety on the busy Malaba-Jinja highway, particularly in the aftermath of major events that attract heavy cross-border traffic.
