Grief engulfed the Malaba border in Uganda after one person died following a Tuesday morning, December 13, accident that involved a Kenyan fuel tanker that was transporting diesel.
Eyewitnesses, who spoke to the press, intimated that the driver managed to escape from the burning fuel tanker with severe injuries leaving behind his turnboy trapped in the blazing oil fire.
Recounting the incident, the witnesses pointed out that the driver was engaged in a hot pursuit with traffic police officers after exceeding the speed limit along the border.
“The driver lost control and crashed into an electric pole in Tororo municipality opposite Uganda College of Commerce,” witnesses shared their observation.
“The crash was caused by reckless driving and overspeeding,” Bukedi South Police spokesperson, Moses Mugwe stated.
Albert Amula, Tororo Deputy Resident District Commissioner, stated that a review of the CCTV footage would be conducted to ascertain the cause of the accident.
Traffic was disrupted for hours on the busy road.
“Traffic flow was disrupted for nearly three hours as the raging fire and plumes of smoke engulfed the section of Malaba-Jinja Highway,” the traffic cops reported.
Rescue teams and police officers curtailed the efforts by passers-by who were itching to siphon fuel from the scene.
Residents urged the government to erect speed bumps in the area to prevent future accidents.
“Accidents are very common in this area due to lack of humps, especially from Rock Classic Hotel to Osukuru corner Trader centre,” they pleaded.
According to the latest report released by the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA), 4,103 road fatalities were reported as of November 2022.
While highlighting the alarming figures, Aden Adow, South Nyanza Regional Manager for NTSA, urged all Kenyans to take action to prevent more traffic accidents by obeying all the traffic rules.
