46 Dead, Dozens Injured in Horrific Bus Collision on Uganda’s Kampala-Gulu Highway

At least 46 people have been confirmed dead and several others injured after two buses collided head-on along Uganda’s Kampala-Gulu highway in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Police have since revised the death toll from an earlier figure of 63, clarifying that some unconscious victims were initially mistaken for fatalities.

According to authorities, the crash occurred shortly after midnight in Kiryandongo District when one of the buses attempted to overtake another vehicle, resulting in a head-on collision. In a statement posted on X, the Uganda Police said the impact triggered a “chain reaction,” involving at least four additional vehicles –  including a truck and a Toyota Land Cruiser , which lost control and overturned several times.

Police described the incident as one of the deadliest road tragedies in recent months, highlighting the ongoing problem of reckless driving and poor road conditions across the country. “At the time of the crash, several victims were found unconscious and some may have been mistakenly included in the initial fatality count,” the statement read.

Images and videos shared by local media captured the harrowing aftermath –  twisted bus frames scattered across the dark highway, illuminated by rescue teams’ flashlights as emergency responders worked through the wreckage to extract survivors.

The injured were rushed to Kiryandongo Hospital and nearby medical facilities for treatment. Authorities have yet to release the exact number of those injured or details of their conditions.

President Yoweri Museveni has conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims, describing the collision as a “tragic accident” and urging drivers to exercise greater caution.

Uganda continues to grapple with an alarming rate of road fatalities. The 2024 national crime report recorded a six percent increase in deadly accidents from the previous year, with 5,144 deaths linked to 4,434 fatal collisions.

The Kampala-Gulu highway, where Wednesday’s tragedy occurred, has a grim history of deadly crashes. In recent years, it has witnessed multiple large-scale accidents, including last year’s fiery truck explosion that killed 26 people and a 2023 bus crash near the Kenya-Uganda border that claimed 21 lives.