Police name victims of Rakai truck crash
The wreckage of the truck, which overturned at Lwabaganda Cell in Dyango Town Council , killing 10 occupants on March 26, 2024.PHOTO/ AMBROSE MUSASIZI
What you need to know:
- According to the 2023 police annual crime report, road crashes increased by 16 percent, from 20,394 in 2022 to 23,608 in 2023. Of the total crashes reported in 2023, at least 4179 were fatal, while 12,487 were serious and another 6942 minor. There were 24,728 casualties from road crashes last year.
The police have named victims of Tuesday afternoon’s motor crash that involved a truck at Lwabaganda Cell in Dyango Town Council, Rakai District.
At least 10 people died and another 20 were injured when the speeding lorry overturned several times. They were part of more than 35 mourners from Kyarurangira Sub-county in Rakai District headed to Isingiro District to attend a burial.
The police identified the deceased as Fortunate Ngabiri, Juma Twinamatsiko, Edisa Nakate, and Vincent Twesigye. Others are Stephen Nuwamanya, Yoas Bangambisa, Stephano Owakubariho and Richard Mwebaze and Anthony Ainebyoona, a toddler.
The locals identified the 10th deceased person as Naboth, although the police was yet to confirm the victim’s particulars by press time.
Mr Paul Nuwamanya, a witness and resident of Lwembajjo A, a village near the crash scene, said the mourners were travelling to attend the burial of one Byabashaija of Rwantaaha in Lusasa Sub-county, Isingiro District.
“The truck was carrying mourners because they wanted to minimise costs since commuter taxis usually charge higher fares than trucks. The vehicle was, however, moving at a terrible speed before overturning,” he said.
Mr Twaha Kasirye, the Greater Masaka police spokesperson, said investigations into the cause of the crash were underway.
“Our teams have worked closely with the locals in Kyarurangira Sub-county and Ddyango Town Council to identify the deceased,” he said.
Mr Kasirye said close to 20 survivors are being attended to at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, Rakai General Hospital, and Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala. “We shall release names of survivors after relatives have identified them,” he said.
Burial arrangements
Mr Mansoor Katongole, a resident of Kamoma A village in Kyarurangira Sub-county, said burial arrangements were underway in the villages of Nyakagando, Kamoma A, Ssanje, and Kigolomolo, where the mourners had come from.
“We are attending to different burial grounds at the same time in Nyakagando and Kamoma A villages, all in Kasula Parish,” he said. The Rakai District Police Commander, Mr Justus Tashobya, said a hunt is on for the truck driver who fled the scene immediately after the crash.
The crash comes nearly two weeks after another truck that was carrying at least 100 students of St Paul Kasoro S.S. in Kyankwanzi District, overturned at Kasooro Village, Watuba Sub-county, Kyankwanzi District, killing one student and several others sustained injuries.
The victims were heading to Butemba College in Butemba Town Council in the same district for the 2024 Post-Primary Football Competitions.
On March 11, at least 10 people died and several others were seriously injured after a trailer rammed into six vehicles at Kibimba Bridge on the Iganga–Tororo highway in Bugiri District.
In 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) ranked Uganda among countries with the highest traffic death rates in the world, estimated at 29 car deaths per 100,000 people.
