Teu speaks out about grisly accident that killed 13 people

Dar/Dodoma. Former deputy minister for Finance, Mr Gregory Teu, whose relatives perished in a road crash in Masaka, Uganda, spoke about the loss of family members.

Mr Teu said he learnt of the sad news, when he and his wife landed at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA).

Mr Teu revealed that after the wedding ceremony on Saturday in Kampala, Uganda, he and his wife boarded the plane from Uganda to Dar es Salaam via Nairobi while the rest left Uganda for Dar es Salaam aboard a mini-bus on Sunday at around 4pm.

“We left Uganda for Dar es Salaam by plane at midnight and landed at JNIA at around 2 am.” Adding “After landing at the Airport, I received a call from Uganda informing me about the deaths, we were very shocked and saddened by the reports.”

Seven out of 13 bodies of Tanzanians killed in the road crash in Kampala, Uganda, will be transported to Moshi while the remaining will be ferried to Mpwapwa in Dodoma Region for burials tomorrow.

The accident occurred on Sunday in Kampala, Uganda when the family of the ex-deputy minister was returning home from the wedding of his daughter.

A mini-bus that was carrying the victims was involved in a head-on collision with a truck on the Mataka Highway, leaving eight others seriously injured. Speaking today with The Citizen over the incident, Mr Gregory Teu’s sister, Ms Mary Teu, said the bodies were expected to arrive today in the country at around 20pm by air from Kampala.

“The bodies will be received by soldiers, who will take them to Lugalo General Military Hospital in Dar es Salaam for preservation until tomorrow when a Requiem Mass for the repose of the souls will be held at Lugalo,” said Ms Mary. She added that two vehicles have already been prepared for transporting the bodies tomorrow to different places.

“We will go to Mpwapwa for burials this Thursday while others will go to Moshi for burials of seven other bodies. After the burials in Mpwapwa, we will go to Moshi for burials of the seven bodies this Friday.

“This is because both sides belong to us as they are relatives of my sister in-law and they are relatives of my brother too,” she said.

She clarified that this Thursday the late relatives of her brother (Gregory Teu) would be laid to rest in Mpwapwa and this Friday again the late relatives of her sister-in-law ( the wife of Gregory Teu) would be laid to rest in Moshi.

She mentioned the names of the bodies being transported to Moshi as Edwin Kimario, Aristarick Shayo, Vivian Msacky , Digna Bosco, Happy Soka, Dr Einoth Laizer and Easter Teu, saying they were coming from different families in Kilimanjaro Region.

According to her, the bodies to be transported to Mpwapwa are those of George Teu (father of former MP Gregory Teu), Alfred Teu (young brother of former MP), Paulina Ndagala (aunt), Rehema Kamwaga (sister), and Boniface Njenga Sakas Teu (son of Gregory Teu).