Students ‘mocked’ driver before Nalango school bus crash

What the report says

The Observer reports that survivors of a Friday evening crash involving a Nalango Senior Secondary School bus on the Jinja–Kamuli road said the driver had been moving fast and may have been distracted shortly before the collision. The accident happened at Busota trading centre as students returned from an educational trip. According to a Kamuli emergency medical team report cited by the outlet, 47 people were injured: 31 students and 16 adults. They were taken to Kamuli General Hospital, where most were said to be improving.

One injured student, Jalia Babirye, told The Observer that traffic police had earlier stopped the driver over alleged speeding and ordered him to wait for an hour before proceeding. She said the bus later resumed at high speed, after which some learners teased the driver with songs and he argued with some of them minutes before the bus hit a stationary truck. Babirye, who suffered back bruises, said she was recovering.

Another survivor, Fatuma Naiwumbwe, said she remembered the sound of the crash and later regained consciousness in hospital. She said doctors found no internal injuries, but she was still dealing with headaches, body pain and distress. Francis Nabirye, a Geography teacher supervising the trip, said four coaster buses had travelled from Kamuli district to Ssezibwa Falls in Buikwe district, and that concerns arose about one bus’s speed during the return journey.

The teacher said staff had asked the driver to slow down, but he allegedly did not comply. The school has informed parents and is coordinating with them on medical supplies, while about 20 students were expected to be discharged the following week, according to The Observer.