Several passengers killed in bus crash in Kenyan town near Uganda border

Bus carrying dozens of Kenyan and Ugandan passengers was travelling from the eastern Ugandan city of Mbale to Nairobi and crashed in a Kenyan border town.

The Ugandan government says it 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. (File)
AA

The Ugandan government says it 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. (File)

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

Ugandan regional police spokesman Rogers Taitika told AFP news agency on Sunday 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 January 6, 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 December 30 to January 1 with 35 people dead and 114 injured, in addition to the victims of the latest January 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.

Security Minister Jim Muhwezi, speaking at the January 2 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.

READ MORE: At least 50 die in Kenya bus crash

Route 6