10 dead, several injured in Fort Portal-Kyenjojo road crash

At least 10 people have been confirmed dead and several others injured after a bus collided with a Toyota Hiace taxi at Kaihura Trading Center along the Fort Portal-Kyenjojo road in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Mr Vincent Twesige, the Rwenzori West police spokesperson, said the 4am crash involved a taxi registered as UBR 812G, traveling from Fort Portal side and an Isuzu bus, registered as UBE 807T, belonging to the Pokopoko company, which was coming from Kampala Kampala side.

“It’s alleged that on August 28, 2024, at around 0400 hours at Kaihura along the Fort Portal-Kampala road, a fatal traffic accident occurred where an Isuzu bus of Pokopoko company collided with a Toyota Hiace taxi, resulting in the deaths of 10 passengers in the taxi, including its driver,” Twesige stated.

According to Twesige, the taxi veered from its lane and collided head-on with the oncoming bus, which was in its proper lane. All the bodies from the taxi were subsequently removed and taken to Kyenjojo Hospital for postmortem examinations, while the injured were also attended to.

By 8:00 am, the wreckage of the taxi had been cleared and taken to Kaihura Police Post. Police traffic officers were working to tow the bus wreckage off the road to restore traffic flow.

Passengers aboard the bus, which was heading to Kasese district, were stranded at the scene from 4:00 am until 9:00 am when another bus from Pokopoko arrived to transport them to Fort Portal and Kasese.

Eyewitness Joshua Katusiime, who arrived at the scene early in the morning, recounted finding lifeless bodies still trapped in the taxi. He mentioned that survivors suggested the taxi had been speeding and speculated that the driver may have been fatigued or asleep at the time of the accident.