🖤National Mourning😭School bus accident: 32 children lost… See more

REPUBLISHED: “We Still Remember” — 8 Years Since the Karatu School Bus Tragedy That Claimed 32 Young Lives

Originally published: May 2017
Republished: June 2025

It has been eight years since Tanzania was shaken to its core by one of the darkest days in its history—the Karatu school bus accident. On the morning of May 6, 2017, tragedy struck when a school bus carrying bright, hopeful students from Lucky Vincent Primary School in Arusha lost control and plunged into a ravine in the mountainous Karatu district.

Thirty-two children, two teachers, and the bus driver perished that day. They were on their way to take mock national exams—a milestone in their young academic journeys, full of promise and dreams. In a heartbreaking instant, that journey came to a tragic end.

The accident sent shockwaves throughout the country. Regular television and radio broadcasts were interrupted. Newspapers ran black banners. Streets fell silent. President John Magufuli declared a national period of mourning, and across Tanzania, candles were lit, prayers were whispered, and tears flowed freely as the nation stood in solidarity with the grieving families.

Amid the wreckage, a sliver of hope emerged—three children survived: Wilson, Sadia, and Doreen. Gravely injured but miraculously alive, they were flown to the United States for advanced medical care. Their resilience inspired millions, becoming a symbol of hope and human strength in the face of unspeakable loss.

In the aftermath, this heartbreaking tragedy sparked a nationwide conversation about road safety, driver regulations, and school transport standards. While reforms have been slow and uneven, the memory of Karatu has continued to serve as a painful but powerful reminder of the lives at stake.

Today, near the crash site, a memorial still stands. Loved ones gather to place flowers and speak the names of the children—not as statistics, but as sons, daughters, dreamers, and classmates whose light lives on in memory.

Eight years have passed. The grief has aged, but it hasn’t faded.
We remember them not just with sorrow—but with love, respect, and a shared vow:
Never again.