Monitoring Desk
KAMPALA: At least nine people were killed on Sunday in a shopping mall stampede as revellers rang in the New Year 2023 in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, police said.
After fireworks outside the Freedom City mall, “a stampede ensued, resulting in the immediate deaths of five people and injuries to several other people,” Luke Owoyesigyire, the police spokesman, said.
“Emergency responders arrived on the incident scene and shifted the injured people to the hospital, where nine were declared dead.”
Uganda New Year’s Eve celebrations
The spokesman said “juveniles” were among the dead without providing details about the victims’ ages.
Owoyesigyire said “rash” acts and “negligence” caused the tragedy.
The celebrations to welcome in New Year 2023 were the first in the east African nation in three years after Covid-19 restrictions and security issues.
