Police in Yumbe district are investigating a fatal accident that has claimed the life of a Nun along the Koboko-Yumbe road.
Reverend Sister Lilly Driciru, 57 years old, a member of the Congregation of Mary Mother of the Church with Mother House in Lira City, met her tragic death on Saturday at 12:40 PM at Kuru Trading Center along Koboko-Yumbe Road.
According to a preliminary police report, Sister Lilly Driciru boarded a Bajaj Boxer Motorcycle (Numberless) boda boda ridden by Mambo Hillary of Lodonga Town Council to visit Viola, a lady she mentored and sponsored till she became a nurse and now works at Yumbe Hospital.
Sister Lilly and the rider were reportedly 200 metres from Yumbe hospital gate when a Mazda CX-5 Motor Vehicle Registration No: UBP 121F, Sky Blue in color, driven by Richard Newton, knocked them from behind.
The nun sustained injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries. The rider, Mambo Hillary, was in critical condition and admitted to Yumbe hospital.
According to sources, the taxi driver tried to escape after the accident but was pursued by onlookers who arrested and handed him to the police at Kuru trading center.
The police have attributed the cause of the accident to reckless driving by Richard Newton. Collins Asea, the Police Spokesperson for North West Nile, said a case of fatal accident has been opened. The deceased’s body was taken to Kuru Hospital mortuary.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Adriko, a former New Vision photo editor who worked with Sister Lilly for some time during her internship, said her demise was unbelievable.
“You came all the way from Canada to come and bid farewell to the sudden death of being knocked off a motorcycle by a speeding vehicle in Yumbe this afternoon!!!!! We had all these years of journalism together when you joined New Vision in the mid-90s as an intern from a journalism school in Mwanza. Then you moved to Leadership Magazine, etc. Rest well with the Angels,” Adriko posted.
In a phone interview, Adriko described Sister Driciru as a person dedicated to service for humanity whose legacy will live to be remembered.
Sr. Driciru and three other Community members had been mandated to open a new community in Canada.
She has been in Canada for the last few months, and her group is waiting for work permits to work in Canada. She had been granted an extended holiday, which is why she opted to go home to Ombaci in Arua City.
By the time of filing this report, her community members in Arua City had picked and taken the body to Ediofe Cathedral for vigil before it was taken to her ancestral home in Ombaci and later Lira City for burial in their Mother House.
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