Eight people were killed and one critically injured on Friday evening when a passenger taxi collided head-on with a trailer on the Mbarara–Lyantonde highway in western Uganda, police said.
The crash occurred at about 6:30 p.m. local time at Kibega I village in Kiruhura district and involved a white Toyota Hiace taxi and a Mercedes-Benz Actros trailer, according to police.
Rwizi Region police spokesperson SP Samson Kasasira said all the casualties were occupants of the taxi, which was travelling from Mbarara toward Lyantonde when the driver attempted to overtake at a corner.
“Police in Kiruhura district has today the 13/02/2026 at around 1830/c registered a fatal accident at Kibega 1 village along Mbarara Lyantonde highway… that claimed 08 lives, injuring 01 victim,” Kasasira said in a statement.
“It’s alleged that the Toyota Hiace was from Mbarara headed to Lyantonde while the trailer was from Lyantonde headed to Mbarara direction. The Toyota Hiace driver over took from a corner and ended up colliding with the trailer that was coming from the opposite direction in its lane,” he added.
Police said four bodies were still trapped in the wreckage as rescue teams worked to retrieve them, and identification of some of the victims was ongoing.
Local media reported that NBS Television journalist Julius Kitone was among those killed in the crash.
Kasasira said preliminary findings point to reckless driving as the cause of the accident, and investigations were continuing.
Road crashes are a major public safety concern in Uganda.
Police statistics show more than 4,500 people die on the country’s roads each year, with human error such as speeding and dangerous overtaking responsible for the majority of accidents.
Posts
0 Comments