Kamuli School Bus crash renews safety concerns despite suspension of study trips

Busota, Kamuli District — July 18, 2026 — Several students were injured after a coaster transporting learners from Nalango Secondary School collided with a sugarcane truck along the Jinja–Kamuli Road in Busota, Kamuli District, in the latest accident involving school transport.
The students were returning from an educational trip in Jinja when the collision occurred. Ambulances and local residents responded to the scene before the injured were taken to Kamuli Main Hospital and Busota Health Centre III for treatment.
Authorities had not confirmed the number of injured students or the circumstances that led to the crash by Saturday, with police saying investigations were ongoing.
The accident occurred as the government moves to halt all school study tours following Thursday’s fatal bus crash in Kapchorwa District, where more than 20 people lost their lives. The Ministry of Education and Sports directed schools with ongoing excursions to return immediately as officials begin reviewing regulations governing educational travel.
The Kamuli collision has intensified concerns about the safety of learners travelling on Uganda’s highways, particularly roads frequented by heavy commercial vehicles. The Jinja–Kamuli Road is one of the busiest transport corridors in the Busoga sub-region, serving passenger traffic alongside sugarcane trucks supplying factories.
Road safety campaigners have repeatedly cited speeding, dangerous overtaking, night travel, poor vehicle maintenance and weak enforcement of traffic laws as some of the factors contributing to the growing number of crashes involving school transport.
Recent weeks have seen several accidents involving vehicles carrying students, including the Mukono bus-train collision and the Bugweri crash involving a school bus and a stationary trailer. The incidents have renewed calls for stricter inspections of buses used for school trips, improved driver training and tighter regulation of operators transporting learners.
Police are expected to examine the condition of both vehicles involved in the Busota crash and interview witnesses as part of efforts to determine the exact cause of the collision.
Education authorities have appealed for patience as investigations continue, while the injured students remain under medical care.