At least one person is confirmed dead and over 20 others injured after a Gateway Company bus carrying Congolese refugees from Kisoro to Kamwenge district overturned at Muko village in Muko Sub County, Kabale district.
The 11am accident occurred when the bus registration number UAH 745Y lost control at what police describe as a double-corner and overturned. The bus was part of 20 other buses transporting refugees from Nyakabande reception centre in Kisoro district to Rwamwanja settlement in Kamwenge district.
The dead has been identified as Zabayo Jadodi, a seven-year-old daughter of Gasper Halelimana, both refugees. The injured, who are yet to be identified, have been taken to Rugarama Hospital and Kabale referral hospital.
According to Elly Maate, the South-southwestern police spokesperson, the bus was carrying 52 passengers.
At least 11 people have been admitted at Muko Health Centre Two and another 8 es referred to Kabale Referral Hospital after a Gateway bus carrying Congolese refugees to Rwamwanja overturned in Muko village about 15kms from Kisoro district.
David Apollo Kazungu, commissioner for refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister, told Uganda Radio Network that the bus failed to negotiate a sharp bend at the Kisoro- Kabale highway leading to the accident. He, however, put the number of people on the bus at 61.
Kazungu also puts the number of injured at 19, adding that the others were put on other buses and are on their way to Rwamwanja.
Up to 16,100 Congolese refugees have so far been transferred from Nyakabande Transit Centre in Kisoro district to Rwamwanja. The Government transferred 2,500 refugees on Tuesday, adding on to the 13,100 transferred last week.
Announcing the move on Tuesday at the Uganda Media Centre, the minister for disaster preparedness Musa Ecweru said the government had earmarked Rwamwanja as a potential settlement camp for the refugees.
The refugees are being transported by United Nations High Commission for Refugees in conjunction with the Uganda Red Cross Society.
