- Twenty pupils and one adult died when a King David Junior School bus overturned on its return from a study tour at Sipi Falls.
- The Uganda Police Force revised the death toll to 21 and reported several survivors with injuries treated at nearby hospitals.
- Authorities moved bodies to Kapchorwa Mortuary for postmortem and pledged further details as investigations into the cause continue.
Twenty pupils and one adult have died after a school bus belonging to King David Junior School in Ndejje, Makindye Division, Kampala, overturned in Kapchorwa District on Thursday evening, July 16, in what has emerged as one of Uganda’s deadliest road accidents involving schoolchildren in recent years.
The Uganda Police Force confirmed that the Isuzu bus, registration number UA 108BQ, was ferrying pupils back to Kampala after a study tour at Sipi Falls when the tragedy occurred at around 8 p.m. in Chekwatit Village, Kimawa Parish, Kawowo Sub-county. Police said the driver lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road, struck a large stone along the roadside, and overturned.
What had begun as a day of learning and excitement for the young pupils ended in tragedy, with emergency responders and police officers rushing to the scene shortly after the crash was reported. Authorities said they were still assessing the full scale of the disaster as rescue efforts got underway.
In a subsequent update, police revised the death toll to 21, comprising 20 pupils and one adult male. Three adult men and several children who survived the crash sustained injuries and were rushed to nearby medical facilities, including Kaserem Health Centre IV, Kapchorwa General Hospital and Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, where they were receiving treatment. The identities of the survivors had not been established at the time of the police statement.
The bodies of those who died in the crash were moved to Kapchorwa Mortuary, where they remain as family members are called upon to identify their loved ones ahead of postmortem examinations.
Police said investigations into the exact cause of the accident are ongoing, and that further details would be released as they become available.
“The Uganda Police Force extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families, the management of King David Junior School, and all those affected by this tragic incident. We also wish the injured a quick and full recovery,” police said in a statement.
By Bernard Magada
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