M7 Offers Sh5m to Per Family of Worshippers Killed in Bushenyi-Mbarara Accident

President Museveni has directed financial support to the families of victims who died in a tragic road accident along the Mbarara–Bushenyi road as they returned from night prayers.

At least eight people were killed and several others injured on Saturday, 25^th April 2026, morning after a speeding vehicle knocked them down and killing them instantly.

The crash occurred at Rushara, Kabwohe in Sheema municipality, involving a black Toyota Fielder, registration number UA 702DL, which was travelling towards Bushenyi from Mbarara.

Following the accident, President Museveni has directed Shs5M financial support to each bereaved family and Shs1M to the injured— a gesture announced by Sheema District Woman MP Nyakikongoro Rosemary during an emotional burial of one of the victims-Editor Komugisha.

The funds, she said, will be coordinated through State House under Eng. Raymond Kamugisha and delivered via the area Resident District Commissioner.

Greater Bushenyi regional police spokesperson, Apollo Tayebwa, identified some of the deceased as Dinavance Komugisha, 47, Jane Rose Kobusigye, 69, Precious Ampereza, 12, Editor Komugisha, 40, Harriet Asiimwe, 57, and Grace Narmara, 27.

Some of the injured include Bruno Bimanyamukama, 16, and Vicky Amanya, 13, sustained injuries and were rushed to ICOBI hospital for treatment. Tayebwa said the victims were returning home after attending overnight prayers at St. Rose Catholic Church in Rukinga, Kabingo.

An eyewitness, Selevio Mukasa, a boda boda rider who was among the first to arrive at the scene, said the driver was speeding and failed to brake before ramming into pedestrians who were crossing the road.

Preliminary police investigations point squarely at speeding as the likely cause, but a more disturbing detail has emerged. Witnesses say alcohol bottles were found inside the abandoned vehicle, raising suspicions that the driver may have been under the influence at the time of the crash.

And then, he vanished.

The tragedy has once again ignited public anger over reckless driving, weak enforcement, and the deadly mix of speed and alcohol on Ugandan roads.

The latest fatalities add to a pattern of deadly crashes on major highways where high speeds, poor road conditions and limited enforcement continue to combine with devastating consequences.

“Mbarara–Bushenyi–Ishaka road is characterised by a narrow roadway interspersed with numerous potholes and overspeeding,” a local resident said, warning that repeated appeals for lasting fixes have gone largely unanswered. “Measures have been limited to filling potholes with soil, which has not addressed the underlying issues.”

Police data shows Uganda recorded 26,044 crashes in 2025, up from 25,107 in 2024. Of these, 4,602 were fatal, resulting in more than 5,300 deaths.

More than 40 percent of the crashes are attributed to reckless driving, including speeding, dangerous overtaking and tailgating.

For drivers, the problem is not just infrastructure but enforcement.

The Uganda Professional Drivers Network, UPDN, says predictable policing has allowed dangerous behavior to persist. “If a driver knows there is a high chance of being caught, they will slow down,” said Richard Ogwal, a UPDN member. “But if enforcement is predictable or absent, risky behavior returns immediately.”

Officials at the Ministry of Works and Transport say the scale of violations has outgrown human enforcement. “We don’t even have more than 2,000 traffic officers across the country,” said Robert Kisakye, Senior Licensing Officer. “They go for lunch, they take leave. They are human. There are limitations.”

That gap has renewed pressure to restore the Express Penalty System, EPS, a smart enforcement designed to monitor drivers continuously. Using cameras EPS detects violations in real time and issues fees without direct human involvement. “When you are shown a video of how you were driving, with the speed recorded, you just accept. The evidence is clear,” Kisakye said.

Drivers’ representatives say such systems are critical to eliminating long-standing weaknesses in enforcement. “As many road users know, ‘Gambanogu’ is itself part of the problem,” UPDN said, referring to roadside bribery that undermines compliance.

Government has since admitted the limit was misapplied and is expected to restrict it to high-risk zones such as schools, markets and residential areas in the revised rollout. For residents along the Mbarara – Bushenyi road, Saturday’s crash is another warning sign. “The frequency of accidents on this road is concerning, yet there appears to be a lack of adequate response,” one resident, James Asinguza, said.

With thousands dying on Uganda’s roads each year, stakeholders say the choice is narrowing. Without consistent enforcement backed by technology, they warn, deadly crashes like the one near Kabwohe will remain a recurring tragedy rather than an exception.