The Nile Star Bus Company has announced that it will introduce relay driving as part of efforts to reduce the frequent accidents involving its fleet.

This initiative follows the company’s return to the road just days after operations on the Kampala–West Nile route were suspended due to repeated crashes.

Amin Waish, the General Manager of Nile Star, explained that the company plans to hire additional drivers to support the new relay system. He noted that the approach is designed to ensure that drivers remain alert and avoid fatigue, ultimately improving passenger safety. Waish added that the designated driver swap location will be Karuma in Kiryandongo District.

In a related development, caretaker Joseph Mobutu Itole dismissed claims of supernatural causes behind the recent accidents, attributing them instead to human error.

The company has experienced several major incidents in recent months. A deadly crash last month at Kitaleba village on the Kampala–Gulu Highway involving a Nile Star bus, a Planet bus, a lorry, and a land cruiser resulted in 43 fatalities. Another accident on November 5, 2025, occurred near Karuma when a Nile Star driver tried to avoid a boda boda rider. Additional crashes were reported on November 6 around Wobulenzi and in Lodonga on the Koboko–Yumbe road.

The police annual crime report for 2024 shows that Uganda registered a rise in road accidents, recording 25,107 cases, a 6.4% increase from the previous year.

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