16 Members of Parliament from Tanzania were injured in an accident on Friday, December 6, 2024, after one of the buses they were travelling in rammed into a trailer in Dodoma to avoid a head-on collision.
A police officer who spoke at the scene of the accident indicated that 16 MPs were injured and had been rushed to various health facilities in Dodoma including the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital.
The officer identified as Katabazi indicated that while no fatalities were recorded at the scene, the driver of the ill-fated bus alongside two other officers accompanying the MPs were injured during the accident.
Wetang’ula to accident victims
In a statement, National Assembly speaker Moses Wetang’ula expressed his sympathies for the Tanzania team, wishing the colleagues injured in the accident a speedy recovery.
“One bus carrying some of our colleagues from Tanzania was involved in an accident. We have no fatalities but some injuries but they have been taken to hospitals where they are being attended. We wish those who have sustained various injuries a quick recovery,” Wetang’ula said before he boarded the SGR to Mombasa.
The games bring together eight member-states of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Kenyan MPs on Friday, December 6, 2024, travelled down to the coastal city by the Standard Gauge Railway after Wetang’ula ordered so on November 19, 2024, for austerity purposes.
Some of the MPs were seen taking the SGR premium which cost Ksh12,000 for a one-way trip and Ksh20,000 for a round-trip when some local flights cost Ksh9,800 for a one-way trip to Mombasa.
EAC parliamentary games
The East African Inter-parliamentary Games will officially be launched on Saturday, December 7, 2024, and are expected to conclude on December 18, 2024, when the champions of the various competitions will be crowned.
The opening ceremony for the games will be marked with a procession from the Office of Mombasa Governor to Mama Ngina Waterfront where speeches will be delivered.
The games that will be played include; golf, football, athletics, tug of war, netball, volleyball, basketball and darts for Persons with Disabilities.
The Kenya Ports Authority’s Mbaraki Stadium will be the primary venue for football and athletics events while other venues like the Aga Khan Academy, Uwanja wa Mbuzi, Sheikh Zayed Academy and Makupa Members’ Club will serve as training grounds and host other sports disciplines.
