Alfred Ekongo, a driver with Kakise Bus Company, has died from injuries he sustained in a road crash in Soroti City last week.
Ekongo passed away on Wednesday at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, where he had been admitted since the accident that occurred on Sunday, July 19.
He lost both legs after the bus he was driving crashed into a bridge. The accident involved Kakise bus registration number UAS 159P, which was travelling from Soroti to Kampala. It occurred at about midnight at Opuyo Trading Centre when the bus veered off the road and rammed into a bridge.
Eyewitnesses said the crash happened as residents had gathered nearby to watch a World Cup football match. During the gathering, a fight reportedly broke out among a group of youths.
According to witnesses, one of the youths attempted to cross the road while being chased, prompting the driver to swerve in an attempt to avoid knocking him down.
“The bus driver tried to avoid hitting the pedestrian but lost control of the vehicle before crashing into the bridge. The accident happened in front of many people here. We may not blame the driver; he was trying to avoid hitting a man who was being chased,” one witness said.
Colleagues at Kakise Bus Company’s Soroti office described Ekongo as an experienced and disciplined driver, saying the crash was the first major accident he had been involved in during more than three decades with the company.
“Ekongo was a very jolly man at work, and he loved his job. He was always careful whenever he was behind the wheel. We believe it is God who has called him to be with Him,” one of his colleagues, who requested anonymity, said.
Ekongo’s body remains at the Soroti Regional Referral Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination and burial arrangements.
Meanwhile, other passengers who sustained injuries in the crash continue to receive treatment at various health facilities in Soroti. Police had not yet issued an official report on the accident by the time of filing this story despite repeated efforts to obtain a comment.
