At least 21 people were killed and 49 injured after the Nairobi-bound bus they were travelling in crashed near the Ugandan border, the police said on Sunday.
The accident occurred on Saturday evening when the bus was crossing the Ugandan border. Among the killed include eight Ugandans while the rest were Kenyans, Ugandan regional police spokesman Rogers Taitika told AFP.
According to police, the driver had apparently lost control of the bus which caused the vehicle to veer off the road.
“Preliminary findings point to a case of overspeeding by the bus driver,” he was quoted as saying.
The bus was travelling from the eastern Ugandan city of Mbale to Nairobi and crashed in the Kenyan town of Lwakhakha.
There has been a spate of accidents occurring in Uganda in recent years. Local media reported that the Ugandan government is planning to issue new measures to try to improve road safety after a surge in accidents.
On January 6, 16 people were killed after a bus rammed into a stationary truck near the northern Ugandan city of Gulu.
In just three days over the New Year period, between December 30 to January 1, 104 road crashes have been recorded in Uganda, with 35 people dead and 114 injured, in addition to the victims of the latest January accidents.
While speaking at the January 2 funeral of three siblings killed in a crash, Security Minister Jim Muhwezi said that their cabinet was planning to implement new safety measures to try to reduce the number of accidents.
(With inputs from agencies)
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