21 die in bus crash on Kenya-Uganda border

Twenty-one people were killed when a bus heading for the Kenyan capital Nairobi crashed shortly after crossing the border from Uganda, police said Sunday, the latest in a recent spate of deadly road accidents.

The Ugandan government is planning to issue new measures to try to improve road safety after a surge in accidents in the East African country over the festive period.

Ugandan regional police spokesman Rogers Taitika told AFP that 21 people were confirmed dead after the accident on Saturday evening. Those killed were mostly Kenyans but also included eight Ugandans.

The bus was travelling from the eastern Ugandan city of Mbale to Nairobi and crashed in the Kenyan town of Lwakhakha, just across the border from a Ugandan town of the same name.

Another 49 people were injured, Taitika said, adding that the driver had apparently lost control, sending the vehicle veering off the road.

"Preliminary findings point to a case of overspeeding by the bus driver," he added.

On 6 January, a passenger bus rammed into a stationary truck near the northern Ugandan city of Gulu, killing 16 people.

Ugandan police say 104 road crashes were registered in just three days over the New Year period between 30 December to 1 January with 35 people dead and 114 injured, in addition to the victims of the latest January accidents.

Security Minister Jim Muhwezi, speaking at the 2 January funeral of three siblings killed in a crash, said the cabinet was drawing up new safety measures to try to reduce the number of accidents.