Five students from Iki-Iki Secondary School perish in Mbale highway crash

Heartbreak in eastern Uganda as five students from Iki-Iki Senior Secondary School died and several others were injured when their truck overturned on the Mbale–Tirinya Highway while heading to the USSSA football games in Budaka District.

A deep sorrow has gripped Uganda’s school sports community after a devastating road accident claimed the lives of five students from Iki-Iki Senior Secondary School in Mbale District.

The students were on their way to Kamonkoli Seed Secondary School in Budaka District to compete in the ongoing Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA) football tournament when tragedy struck along the Mbale–Tirinya Highway at Jami in Kamonkoli Town Council.

According to eyewitnesses, the truck they were travelling in — registration number UAP 443Z — suddenly lost control and overturned, killing five students instantly. Several others sustained injuries and were rushed to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital for urgent treatment.

The vehicle was reportedly overcrowded and in poor mechanical condition. Police have arrested the driver, who is expected to be charged with reckless driving, overloading, and operating an unfit vehicle.

Just hours earlier, Iki-Iki Senior Secondary School had played their opening Group D matches, narrowly beating Grace Comprehensive School 1-0 before falling to Bugwere High School. The team had been looking forward to facing Iki-Iki High School and Ngoma Standard School later that day.

This heartbreaking incident comes barely a week after another football-related tragedy, when eight fans of Red Devo Football Club, including the club’s chief executive officer, lost their lives in a separate road accident following the team’s exit from the Uganda Cup against Express FC.

The double blow has left players, coaches, teachers, and parents across the country shaken, once again raising urgent questions about the safety of student transportation during national school sports events.

As the injured students continue to receive treatment at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, the football fraternity is united in mourning the young lives cut short while pursuing their passion for the game.