news 4 May 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Nwoya Bus Crash: Driver Ignores Warnings, Kills Seven Including Police Officer's Family
A Nile Star bus driver ignored passenger pleas to slow down before crashing into a trailer on the Karuma-Pakwach highway in Nwoya, killing seven people including a police officer's family members and injuring many others. The incident highlights ongoing safety issues with the bus company amid rising road deaths in Uganda. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/nwoya-bus-crash-driver-ignored-passengers-warnings--5447080
A tragic accident on the Karuma-Pakwach highway in Nwoya District claimed seven lives when a Kampala-bound Nile Star bus collided with an oncoming trailer early Monday morning. The crash occurred around 1am in Lapok Mor Village as the driver attempted a reckless overtake.
Passengers repeatedly warned driver Kasim Mandela Abugo against speeding, but he dismissed their concerns, according to survivors and a bus clerk. One victim, recovering at Anaka General Hospital with a thigh fracture, recounted three failed attempts to intervene, including a near-miss with road construction barricades.
The bus, registration UBP 736U, carried 67 passengers from Arua. It struck the trailer (SSD 040A/SSD 498C) after the truck driver swerved to avoid a head-on collision. Four died on the spot, three more at the hospital, with 16 injured.
Among the deceased: Dorrish Drabaru and her six-year-old daughter Treasure Elvin, relatives of surviving police officer Cosmas Abiria; student Margaret Scopas Poni; Nelson Juria; Congolese national Alexis Viribo Kakule; Moses Acaye; and one unidentified man. Injured include Abiria and his three children.
The truck driver, Mohammed Abubaker Omar, said he flashed his lights twice, but the bus pressed on. The driver is in custody at Nwoya Central Police Station, and police noted the conductor also ignored complaints.
This marks another incident for Nile Star, following deadly crashes in Kiryandongo (46-63 deaths in October 2025) and elsewhere in 2025. Uganda saw road deaths rise to 5,383 in 2025, averaging 15 daily.