At least 12 people died in a fatal road crash along in Bugiri District after a commuter taxi collided head-on with a trailer late Sunday night.
The accident occurred at around 10pm at Lwaba Village in Kapyanga Sub-county, along the busy Jinja–Malaba Highway.
A Toyota Hiace taxi, registration UBQ 772A, was heading from Kampala to Tororo when it crashed into a trailer carrying a container, registration KBM 175S, coming from Malaba.
According to preliminary police reports, a motorcycle rider attempting to overtake the trailer from the opposite direction may have triggered the collision.
The boda boda, which was reportedly travelling from Bugiri Town to Busowa Town Council, entered the path of the oncoming taxi, creating a split-second scenario that ended in disaster.
Nine people died on the spot, and one more succumbed to injuries while being rushed to hospital.
The motorcycle rider and his passenger also died On the spot.
Busoga East Police spokesperson Michael Kafayo confirmed the death toll, saying investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the crash.
“Twelve people have been confirmed dead, and we are still in the process of identifying the victims and informing their next of kin,” he said.
Police have cordoned off the scene and are working with local authorities to trace witnesses and collect further evidence.
Emergency responders faced a grim situation retrieving bodies from the mangled wreckage late into the night.
Authorities have repeatedly warned road users along the Jinja–Malaba Highway to exercise caution, especially at night when visibility is low and traffic includes heavy trucks.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to Bugiri Hospital mortuary as police appealed to families with missing relatives to check in. Traffic along the highway was temporarily disrupted but has since been restored.
The tragedy is one of the deadliest to be reported in the region in recent months and underscores the continued risks on Uganda’s major highways.
