At least 46 people were killed early Wednesday in a multiple-vehicle crash along a major highway in western Uganda, police said, marking one of the country’s deadliest road accidents in recent years.
Police initially reported 63 fatalities in a statement issued to the media but later revised the figure to 46, clarifying that several people initially presumed dead were later found alive.
“At the time of the crash, several victims were found unconscious, and some may have been mistakenly included in the initial fatality count,” the police statement explained.
The collision, which occurred just after midnight on the highway to Gulu, involved two buses and two other vehicles near Kiryandongo, a town located between Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and the country’s northern region.
According to police, the accident happened when two buses traveling in opposite directions attempted to overtake other vehicles simultaneously, leading to a head-on collision.
“In the process, both buses met head-on during the overtaking maneuvers,” police said in the statement.
Several passengers sustained serious injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals for emergency treatment. Authorities have since deployed rescue teams and forensic experts to identify victims and assist survivors.
Road accidents remain frequent and deadly in Uganda and across much of East Africa, where highways are often narrow and poorly lit. Police regularly cite reckless driving, speeding, and dangerous overtaking as leading causes of such tragedies.
In a similar incident in August, a bus carrying mourners from a funeral in southwestern Kenya overturned and fell into a ditch, killing at least 25 people and injuring several others.
Authorities in Uganda have renewed calls for stricter traffic enforcement, driver education, and improved road safety infrastructure to prevent further loss of lives on the nation’s highways.
