Kampala, Uganda: Eight months after President Yoweri Museveni publicly pledged financial support to families and survivors of the deadly October 2025 Nile Star bus crash in Kiryandongo District, questions are emerging over delays in the full disbursement of the promised funds to victims.
The renewed spotlight follows concerns raised by Rights group – KRA (Human Rights Association (HRA), which says many affected families and survivors are still reportedly waiting for the compensation announced by the President in the aftermath of the tragedy.
The October 22, 2025, crash at Kitaleba Village in Kiryandongo along the Kampala-Gulu Highway remains one of Uganda’s deadliest road accidents in recent years, when a Nile Star Coaches bus travelling from Kampala to Gulu reportedly attempted to overtake a lorry at the same moment a Planet Company bus from the opposite direction was also overtaking, resulting in a horrific head-on collision involving multiple vehicles.
The crash claimed 46 lives and left 67 people injured, with survivors rushed to Kiryandongo Hospital and nearby health facilities for emergency treatment. Several bodies initially remained unidentified in the aftermath of the accident.
Hours after the tragedy, President Museveni announced that government would provide Shs5 million to each bereaved family and Shs1 million to every injured survivor to support burial arrangements and medical expenses.
Officials from State House and the Office of the Prime Minister later travelled to Kiryandongo District to verify victims and profile beneficiaries expected to receive the compensation package.
However, the HRA says there is no public record confirming that all affected persons have fully received the promised support.
“A Presidential pledge made in public, immediately after a tragedy, to bereaved families and injured survivors is not a discretionary gesture. It is a commitment,” HRA Chairman Saad Kassis-Mohamed said.
“The President made this commitment in public, to people in the most acute period of grief and injury,” he added. “The HRA calls on him to honour it now, in full, without further delay.”
The organisation also linked the issue to wider road safety concerns in Uganda’s transport sector.
According to the statement, Nile Star Coaches was allegedly involved in 11 separate accidents between May 2025 and May 2026, resulting in 56 deaths and 91 injuries before authorities eventually suspended the company’s operations.
Mr Kassis-Movement further alleged that the driver involved in the October 2025 crash, identified as Abugo Mandela, had previously been linked to other accidents and alleged misconduct.
The HRA is now demanding a public accountability report showing which families and survivors have already received compensation and which beneficiaries are still pending payment.
The organisation, which is linked to the WeCare Foundation based in Cape Town, South Africa, also called for stronger road safety enforcement and stricter accountability measures against transport operators.
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