Overview
- Officials confirmed late Thursday that a King David Junior School bus overturned on Chekwatit Hill in Kapchorwa District leaving 21 people dead, including 20 pupils and the school's founder Tadeo Ssekade.
- Early investigations and police statements say the driver lost control after a mechanical fault, the vehicle struck a large rock and then rolled off the road on a stretch long identified as an accident black spot.
- Dozens were injured and taken to several hospitals with nine children reported in critical condition at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital and others treated at Kapchorwa, Kaserem and Bulambuli facilities.
- The government has ordered an immediate ban on all school trips and ministers from education, transport and the police have held a crisis meeting to consider tighter vehicle inspections, driver rules and trip supervision.
- The crash adds to a recent cluster of school-transport accidents in Uganda and is likely to increase pressure for stricter enforcement of vehicle maintenance and road-safety measures on hazardous routes.