Agency
Police have issued a stern warning to long-distance bus companies, stating that drivers who endanger passengers’ lives through reckless behaviour risk lifetime driving bans.
Speaking to the media at Naguru Police Headquarters in Kampala, Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said investigations into two recent crashes involving Y.Y Coaches revealed gross driver negligence that authorities can no longer tolerate.
One of the most serious incidents occurred on May 5 along the Katosi-Nyenga Road in Buikwe District, where a Y.Y bus overturned and caught fire, killing four people, the second crash involving another Y.Y bus (registration number UAX 852Y) happened on May 12 along the Ayago stretch of the Pakwach-Arua highway while en route to Yumbe, leaving six people injured.
Kituuma said that the Ministry and the Police are working together to ensure that the reinstatement of reckless drivers by companies is stopped.
He emphasized that drivers involved in fatal crashes will face permanent driving bans.
The urgency of the warnings follows a worrying trend: fatal road crashes increased by 6.1%, from 4,179 in 2023 to 4,434 in 2024.
In these incidents, 5,144 people died, up from 4,806 in 2023.
