Family mourns two children killed in freak accident

The deceased, 12-year-old Edmond Okello and his brother 9-year-old Ceasar Okello were walking along Atwoma swamp, Aciltom Village, when the driver of the truck trailer, registration number SSD 551S, lost control of the vehicle and slammed into them.

The truck then skidded off into the swamp.

The victims were children of a resident of Adagik B Village, Agwiciri Parish identified as Vincent Okoli.

The North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, Patrick Jimmy Okema, confirmed the incident saying that investigations are underway to establish the cause of the accident.

“Police are still carrying out investigations into the actual cause of the accident,” Okema said.

According to Okema, the killer truck was journeying from Juba to Mombasa. The driver, 49-year-old Kenyan citizen Daniel Mwenze Kyumwa was arrested and taken into police custody at Dokolo Central Police Station.

The truck is yet to be recovered from the scene of the accident.

The bodies of the boys were taken to hospital for post mortem.

In a similar incident in Gulu District, at least eight people have died and many sustained injuries after the car they were traveling in slammed into a building. Four died instantly, two died in the ambulance and two died at hospital.

The truck, a Mitsubishi Fuso Canter, was transporting over 40 vendors to Gulu Main Market when the driver lost control and knocked into Cynibel Supermarket, along Opwonya-Walter Road in Gulu City.

A witness, a boda boda rider, said that the driver was overspeeding when he approached a sharp corner.

“He passed me near the washing bay at a terrible speed yet he was approaching the sharp corner and he failed to navigate it thus losing control before entering the nearby building,” he said.

According to the market vendors, the truck has been involved in three accidents, making the latest accident the fourth.