Two die in Kampala-Juba bus accident
November 12, 2013 (KAMPALA) – Two people died Tuesday afternoon and several others injured when a Juba bound bus from Kampala collided with a truck at Jebilin, about 90 kms from Juba.
The Bakulu bus registration number UAS281S collided with a trailer from Juba instantly killing the driver and conductor of the truck, said Uganda police.
‘‘Two people died on the spot and many others injured. The injured were rushed to Juba hospital,’’ Patrick Jimmy Okema, a Uganda police spokesperson told Sudan Tribune on Monday.
Okema said the accident happened at 1:30 pm.
The nationalities of the dead and injured at the time of filing this report had not yet been identified. But it is suspected to include Ugandans and South Sudanese.
The Uganda police spokesperson said the cause of the accident had not yet been confirmed but said it could have been caused by reckless driving.
‘‘There could have been an element of reckless driving. Drivers should know that the lives of passengers are in their hands. We advise them to observe road safety rules,’’ said Okema.
This is not the first time that a Bakulu bus, operated by a Ugandan company, is involved in an accident along the Uganda- South Sudan route.
In June 2011 a bus from the same company collided with another bus in Nimule killing 29 people, injuring 77.
Only months later, another bus from the same company was involved in an accident on the same route killing three people and injuring nine.
Following the accidents the Ugandan authorities suspended the bus company from operations until it met safety requirements, among others requiring that buses which ply long distances such as from Kampala to Juba should have two drivers who can take turns in driving the bus.
It is unclear whether bus companies are following the regulation. The latest accident will once more raise concern about the safety of travellers on the route which is key for the movement of goods and people in cross border trade between Uganda and South Sudan.
(ST)