One Dead, Several Injured in Queen Elizabeth National Park Bus Accident

Enid Ninsiima And Felix Basiime Kasese

25 May 2011

One person has been claimed dead and several others injured in a road accident that rolled the bus 300metres off the road into green savannah in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kasese district on Wednesday morning. It is reported that the driver had fallen asleep as he drove to Bwera in Kasese district from Kampala at 3am.

The bus conductor, Mr Ema Bwambale 27 died on the spot while several other passengers were seriously injured and were rushed to Kilembe hospital after the bus went off the road near Kasese cobalt company limited (KCCL) along Kasese-Mbarara highway.

The bus, Link coach reg. No UAK 350A first went off the road before knocking a tree.

Eye eyewitnesses said the driver, Mr Joseph was fast asleep on the steering wheel when the incident happened. The driver escaped unhurt and is on the run.

The deceased’s body was still lying in the Kasese municipal public mortuary by press time pending a postmortem. Relatives were also being awaited to identify the body.

Survivors said the bus had at least 47 passengers on board at the time of accident who were heading to Democratic Republic of Congo through Mpondwe border post but off loaded other passengers in Kasese town.

The Kasese district traffic officer, Mr Steven Muhoozi attributed the accident to recklessness and sleep-driving.

Sources in Kasese town said that the bus does a return journey and has only one driver who never gets time to rest.

Muhoozi has warned drivers to always be conscious of the lives of the passengers and themselves whenever they are on the road.

Three weeks ago, another sleeping driver on a Horizon bus made a head on collision with a pick up at Nyakasaru in Rubirizi district at 4am. The bus was heading to Bushenyi from Kasese while the pick up was heading to Kasese. The occupants of the pick up died instantly.

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