Head-on collision in Uganda leaves 16 dead

By Godfrey Olukya

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - At least 16 people were killed late Sunday when two vehicles collided in Uganda.

The accident took place around 8.30 p.m. local time (1730GMT) in Kyenjojo district, about 248 kilometers (154 miles) west of the capital Kampala.

Ugandan police issued a statement saying that 16 people died in Nyasheke village in Kyenjojo district on Fort Portal Hoima Road.

Nyasheke village chief Anthony Kalangwa told Anadolu that a taxi from the town of Fort Portal had reached Muzizi forest in Nyasheke village when it became involved in a head-on crash with a truck and 14 people died on the spot and two others later.

Road carnage in Uganda is very common due to reckless driving and bad roads.

On Thursday, Parliament Speaker Anita Among called a special meeting with traffic police and the Ugandan National Road Authority to discuss how to reduce the number of road accidents, which claim more than 10 people per week. This came after prominent businessman Apollo Nyegamehe, former lawmaker Charles Angiro Gutmoi and several other people died in road accidents within one week.

According to the Ugandan police’s annual report for 2021, there were 17,443 road traffic accidents, of which 3,757 were fatal.