Iringa – Twenty-one people, including two boys aged between three and five, were killed and five others injured when a passenger bus collided with a lorry at Kiponzelo junction in Iringa Region on November 9, 2026, according to a statement from regional police.
The deaths follow the loss of 32 lives in two Morogoro crashes in October and another 12 in Singida in September, including police officers and remand detainees in the Sekenke collision.
In the latest crash, the Fuso bus was travelling from Wasa towards Iringa town when it collided with a Scania lorry on the Iringa–Njombe main road. The lorry was heading from Iringa towards Congo. Police said those killed comprised 10 men, nine women and the two boys.
Iringa Regional Police Commander Alan Bukumbi attributed the collision to the bus driver entering the main road from a smaller road without taking precautions. The bus driver, identified only as Amos, was among those killed.
“The cause of this accident was negligence by the driver, who entered the main road from a smaller road,” Bukumbi told journalists at the scene. He said the lorry was already travelling along the main road when the collision occurred.
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The injured were receiving treatment at Iringa Regional Referral Hospital and two other local health facilities. The bodies of those killed were being held at the regional referral hospital, according to the police statement.
In a November 9 condolence message, President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed sorrow over the deaths and offered condolences to Iringa Regional Commissioner Kheri James and the bereaved families.
“I pray that the Almighty grants the bereaved comfort, patience and strength during this difficult period, and a speedy recovery to all those injured,” she said.
The Iringa police statement also urged drivers and other road users to observe traffic laws and safety regulations to prevent crashes that cost lives and destroy property.
The latest deaths come a month after two collisions in Morogoro Region on the night of October 8–9 claimed 32 lives. Twenty-eight people died after a passenger bus and a timber lorry collided at Mkambarani and the bus caught fire. A separate three-vehicle crash involving a police vehicle killed four.
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On September 21, five police officers and seven remand detainees died at Sekenke Hill in Singida Region when a fuel tanker struck a police vehicle. Officials initially attributed that collision to tanker brake failure.
The following day, eight people died, and 12 were injured at Chumbi village in Rufiji District when a Coaster bus collided head-on with a truck. Police said the bus driver lost control and crossed into the opposing lane.
Together with the Iringa crash, these selected incidents account for 73 reported deaths since September 21. That is not a national total for the period.
National figures show that the continued mass-casualty crashes have occurred despite a reported decline in deaths. Home Affairs Minister Paschal Katambi told Parliament in May that 1,066 people died and 1,869 were injured between July 2025 and April 2026. Deaths were 16.4 per cent lower than in the comparable preceding period.
Katambi attributed the improvement to intensified enforcement, including major-road patrols, and said roughly three million drivers had faced warnings, fines, prosecution or licence suspension.
Beyond enforcement, the Ministry of Education and Japan’s development agency JICA are continuing a school road-safety education project. The project aimed to increase awareness among pupils and the wider community, but did not report a measured reduction in crashes.
