9 perish in Mbarara, Wakiso New Year motor accidents

KAMPALA/MBARARA.

Five members of two families died in two separate accidents that claimed nine lives on New Year. Six of those, including three family members, were killed in Nansana, Wakiso District, and three occupants of the same sedan car were injured.

Three of those killed in Mbarara District on New Year were pedestrians, with two of them from the same family. Another pair was injured.

Drivers of the cars involved in the two accidents were suspected to be drunk, according to police.
The Sunday morning incident at Nansana happened at Yesu Amala on the Kampala-Hoima highway in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District.

The victims
Mr Gamal Abdul Kadri, the regional traffic officer Kampala Metropolitian Police North, identified the victims as Ashraf Lukwago who was driving the ill-fated Corona, his wife Margaret Namirembe, their daughter Shakuwa Nakibuuka, and their landlord’s daughter only identified as Alice.
The police also identified the other victims as Bosco and Denis, who were working with him in a garage in Nansana, while Benjamin and James survived and have been admitted in critical condition at Mulago hospital.

“I think the driver became very happy and got excited, failing to control the vehicle. He hit a mango tree due to reckless driving and this happened at 2:30am in Nansana . We took the bodies to Mulago hospital,” Mr Kadri said on telephone yesterday.

Ms Jamila Kigundu, a cousin of Lukwago, yesterday said they buried the bodies of Lukwago and his daughter in Bulega Namatovu Parish in Maja Sub-county, Buikwe District, while that of his wife was taken to Masaka for burial since they were not officially married.

“The two other bodies were of workmates and we left them in Mulago hospital. The wife was three months pregnant and her relatives demanded that her body be buried in Masaka. The other child was for their landlord,” she said yesterday in a telephone interview.

Ms Kigundu said the deceased family’s landlord had entrusted them with the custody of his child and had asked them to go along with her for the overnight prayers during the Passover but got caught up in the unfortunate incident.
She said Lukwago was 22 years and had been running a motor garage in Nansana.

Drunk driving
Meanwhile, in Mbarara Municipality, a drunk driver knocked five pedestrians on the walkway, killing three on the spot near Kayanja Memorial Hospital at 6:30am yesterday. Two of the dead were from the same family.
The dead were identified as Maria Nkurumbi, 58, Twaziwa Naziwa, 26, and Decacline Nakyeyune, 17.
Two others juveniles, Noelina Tumuhimbise and Milly Kyomukama, were seriously injured and are admitted at Kayanja Memorial Hospital.
The five were returning from attending prayers at Mbarara Municipal Square.
Rwizi Region Police spokesperson, Mr Ibin Ssenkumbi, said the driver, who works with Stanbic Bank headquarters in Kampala, was drunk at the time of the accident.

Arrests
“We have arrested him on charges of drink-driving and reckless driving causing death. He had hidden the car in Kanyaryeru, but we managed to recover it and tow it to the police station,” he said.
Last week, as Ugandans prepared for the festive season, police warned motorists of arrest in case they were found driving under the influence of alcohol. But at the stroke of the New Year, the fireworks that lit up the skyline of the city, drove city dwellers into a frenzy.