Motor accident in Uganda kills 13 people, police say

KAMPALA, Uganda – Thirteen people, including 12 Tanzanian nationals, have been killed in a motor accident on a highway in central Uganda, police said Monday.

Most of the victims were travelling in a minibus that crashed head-on with a truck on Sunday night, Ugandan police spokesman Asan Kasingye told a news conference in the capital, Kampala.

The Tanzanians were returning home from a wedding in Kampala.

Seven other passengers in the minibus were seriously injured and “in critical condition.” A passenger in the truck was killed while the driver was seriously injured, Kasingye said.

The highway leading to western Uganda has been notorious over the years for the high number of lethal accidents usually blamed on irresponsible drivers.

In July 2016 at least 17 people were killed in a multi-vehicle accident on the highway, which leads to neighbouring Rwanda and often has heavy trucks carrying imports from the Indian Ocean coast.

Deadly motor accidents are frequent in this East African country where roads and highways are narrow and often pot-holed.