On Thursday, July 16, 2026, Uganda woke up to the devastating news of a bus crash involving pupils from King David Primary School, Ndejje, who were returning from an educational trip to Sipi Falls in Kapchorwa. More than 20 children are reported to have lost their lives.
The tragedy, together with several other accidents involving schoolchildren in recent weeks, has shattered an unspoken promise every parent holds dear: that when children leave home for school—whether as boarders or day scholars—they will return safely.
Parents, schools and government all have a duty to protect children. Yet that duty is increasingly being broken as accidents involving schoolchildren become alarmingly frequent, leaving families and communities heartbroken and grappling with one painful question: How many more children must die before decisive action is taken?
With a heavy heart, I scrolled through videos circulating on various social media platforms showing the anguish of parents at King David Primary School. Some collapsed in grief. Some lost one child, while others lost more than one. The scenes were heartbreaking.
Whenever a school bus overturns, crashes into a mechanically defective truck abandoned by the roadside, or suffers a preventable mechanical failure, we often resign ourselves by saying, “It was God’s timing.” God indeed loves children, but Uganda’s education and transport systems continue to expose them to avoidable dangers that cut their lives short.
Meanwhile, public officials offer condolences, sometimes accompanied by financial support for burial expenses. Traffic recklessness is condemned, promises are made, and investigations announced. Yet public attention soon shifts elsewhere, only for the same cycle to repeat itself year after year.
Following the latest tragedy, the Ministry of Education and Sports temporarily suspended all educational trips. While this may have been necessary, government exists not merely to respond to disasters but to prevent them.
The duty to protect children is firmly anchored in Uganda’s Constitution, the Children Act, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Because children cannot fully protect themselves, the principle of the best interests of the child must guide every decision made by both public and private institutions.
This means every policy, programme and activity involving children should place their welfare above all other considerations. Yet educational trips involving overloaded vehicles, excessively long journeys and unsafe transport arrangements continue to expose children to unnecessary risks that threaten their physical safety, emotional wellbeing and educational future.
As government assumes what increasingly appears to be the role of a spectator, some educational institutions continue prioritising administrative convenience and financial considerations over children’s fundamental right to safe learning environments.
Uganda’s children are not dying because the country lacks laws. They are dying because existing laws are inconsistently enforced.
The Traffic and Road Safety Act, 1998 already provides clear standards governing road use and vehicle safety. Yet mechanically unfit vehicles continue operating on public roads. Unlicensed, inexperienced and sometimes elderly drivers continue transporting schoolchildren. Many of these vehicles travel across narrow, potholed and slippery roads while passing through traffic checkpoints without effective enforcement.
As the Ministry of Education develops new guidelines on educational trips, many communities continue mourning children whose dreams ended on highways because of speeding, reckless driving or mechanical failure.
What citizens expect is leadership that goes beyond issuing statements. They expect practical, enforceable measures that prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
Government, and particularly the Ministry of Education and Sports, must recognise these repeated incidents as both a governance failure and a moral challenge.
A nation’s commitment to its future is reflected in how well it protects its children today. Every child lost is not merely a personal tragedy for one family; it represents a collective national failure.
The Ministry must work relentlessly to ensure children are never treated as casualties of administrative convenience or institutional complacency. This does not necessarily require new legislation. Existing laws simply need to be implemented consistently and without compromise.
Drivers entrusted with children’s lives should be held to the highest professional standards. Schools should be required to justify long-distance educational trips and demonstrate that adequate safety measures are in place before children are allowed to travel.
When those responsible for protecting children become spectators, preventable risks become normalised. Public statements replace meaningful action. Success becomes measured by the number of condolences issued rather than the number of tragedies prevented.
Teachers continue asking parents to contribute money for educational trips, often putting children on the phone to persuade reluctant parents. Eventually many parents give in. Then tragedy strikes, mourning begins, condolences are offered, and grief slowly becomes accepted as public policy.
Uganda’s children deserve far more than sympathy after disaster strikes.
They deserve a government that acts before tragedy occurs.
The author is Senior Lecturer of Social Sciences and Security studies at Nkumba University