A Fuso truck collided with boda-boda riders and pedestrians at the Kawaala junction in Nabweru, Nansana Municipality, situated within Wakiso District leaving two dead and eight severely injured.
The accident involved a Mitsubishi Fuso with registration number UAQ 539E and several Bajaj Boxer type motorcycles with plate-numbers UFS 111, UEP 598K, and UFU 872P, , as confirmed by the SP Michael Kananura – Traffic police spokeperson.
Those injured were swiftly transported to Mulago National Referral Hospital following the incident, which occurred at 12:40 pm on a Sunday. The identities of the deceased were withheld at the time of reporting, but police identified them as a motorcycle rider and a passenger.
Preliminary reports suggest that the driver of the truck, travelling from the Kazo direction and descending into the junction, failed to apply the brakes, leading to the collision with the motorcycles.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to Mulago mortuary for postmortem examinations, while both the vehicle and motorcycles were towed to Nabweru Police Station for further investigation.
Authorities initiated a search for the truck driver, who fled the scene. Crashes on Ugandan roads remain a common occurrence, often attributed to human error by the police.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has cited alarming statistics, reporting an estimated 7,315 annual fatalities due to road crashes in Uganda, nearly double the figure reported to local law enforcement, which stood at 4,159 in 2022. While the police’s annual traffic and crime report for 2021 indicated that 81 per cent of crash victims were male and 19 per cent female, the WHO reported a distribution of 95 per cent male and 5 per cent female fatalities.
The estimated deaths per 100,000 population stood at 16, according to WHO figures. Authorities continue to grapple with road safety challenges amid ongoing efforts to mitigate accidents and fatalities.