21 Killed in Uganda School Trip Bus Crash as Pupils and Director Die

At least 21 people, including 20 pupils and a school director, have died after a bus carrying children on an educational trip crashed in eastern Uganda.

The accident, described as one of the country’s deadliest recent road crashes involving schoolchildren, occurred on Thursday evening in the Kapchorwa area.

Dozens of other passengers, including teachers and school staff, were injured when the bus crashed while travelling along the Chekwatit Hill route, an area known for frequent road accidents.

According to police, preliminary investigations suggest that the bus developed a mechanical fault before the driver lost control while descending the hill.

The vehicle reportedly veered off the road, hit a large roadside rock and overturned around 8:00 pm local time at Chekwatit village in the Kawowo area.

The victims were pupils of King David Junior School in Ndejje who were returning from an educational trip to Sipi Falls, a popular tourist destination in eastern Uganda.

Uganda’s Local Government Minister, Balaam Ateenyi Barugahara, confirmed the death toll during a visit to the crash scene.

He said 20 children and the school’s founder and director, Mr Tadeo Ssekade, had lost their lives in the tragedy.

Images and videos from the scene showed the badly damaged bus lying beside the road as residents and emergency responders rushed to rescue survivors.

The injured victims were transported to nearby hospitals, while authorities continued investigations to determine the exact cause of the crash and establish the full extent of the casualties.

Uganda records thousands of road deaths annually, with speeding, poor vehicle maintenance and dangerous road conditions often identified as major causes.

The latest tragedy has renewed concerns about the safety of school transportation following a number of serious bus accidents involving children in recent weeks.