Overview
- A bus carrying pupils from King David Junior School veered off Chekwatit Hill on Thursday evening, struck a large roadside rock and overturned, and police say at least 24 people have died.
- Officials identified the lone adult killed as the school’s founder, Tadeo Ssekade, and said most of the dead are children from the returning Sipi Falls study tour.
- Dozens of survivors were taken to multiple facilities with several children in critical condition at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital and others treated at Kapchorwa, Kaserem and Bulambuli health centres.
- The government has suspended all school trips, convened an inter‑agency crisis meeting to draft new transport and inspection rules, and opened a formal investigation into the crash.
- Road safety experts and officials point to a pattern of recent school‑transport accidents caused by poorly maintained vehicles, hazardous stretches such as Chekwatit Hill and weak enforcement, which may drive longer‑term regulatory and road improvements.