Uganda Bus Crash Death Toll Revised Down to 46

Tragic Highway Collision Claims 46 Lives in Uganda

A devastating road accident on Uganda's Kampala-Gulu Highway has resulted in 46 confirmed fatalities, with authorities revising down the initial death toll of 63 after discovering some victims were unconscious rather than deceased. The horrific multi-vehicle collision occurred around 12:15 a.m. on October 22, 2025, at Kitaleba Village in Kiryandongo District, approximately 263 kilometers from the capital Kampala.

Chaotic Overtaking Maneuver Leads to Disaster

The accident involved four vehicles: two Isuzu buses operated by Nile Star Coaches and Planet Company, a Toyota Surf SUV, and a Tata lorry. According to police spokesperson SP Michael Kananura, preliminary investigations indicate the crash was triggered by simultaneous dangerous overtaking maneuvers from opposite directions. 'The Nile Star bus traveling from Kampala to Gulu attempted to overtake the Tata lorry, while the Planet Company bus coming from the opposite direction was also overtaking the Toyota Surf, leading to a head-on collision between the two buses,' Kananura stated in an official police release.

The impact caused a chain reaction with vehicles losing control and overturning multiple times. Emergency services responded promptly, evacuating the injured to Kiryandongo Hospital and nearby medical facilities, while the deceased were taken to the hospital mortuary for identification.

Revised Death Toll Brings Some Relief

Police initially reported 63 deaths but revised the figure hours later after hospital updates revealed some victims were unconscious rather than deceased. 'During the crash, multiple victims were found unconscious,' the Uganda Police Force explained in a social media update. 'This led to some of them being incorrectly counted in the original death toll.'

A Red Cross spokesperson described the scene as gruesome, with victims suffering broken limbs and severe bleeding. The unusually high death toll for such incidents highlights the severity of the collision and the challenges facing emergency response teams in rural Uganda.

Ongoing Road Safety Crisis in Uganda

This tragedy comes amid a worsening road safety crisis in Uganda. According to the 2024 Police Crime Report, Uganda recorded 25,107 road crashes last year, representing a 6.4% increase from the previous year. These crashes resulted in 4,434 fatal cases with deaths, 13,134 serious injury cases, and 7,539 minor injury cases.

Careless overtaking remains the leading cause of accidents, accounting for 44.5% of all crashes, followed by speeding with 5,505 cases. The Kampala-Gulu Highway has long been identified as one of Uganda's most dangerous routes, with narrow roads and frequent reckless driving contributing to numerous fatalities.

'We urge all motorists to exercise maximum caution and avoid dangerous overtaking, which remains one of the leading causes of crashes in our country,' Kananura emphasized in his statement. The police have launched investigations into the exact circumstances of the crash and are working with transportation authorities to implement additional safety measures along the hazardous highway corridor.