ONE DIES AS SUGARCANE TRUCK OVERTURNS IN MASINDI

By Our Reporter

MASINDI: One person died on the spot while others are nursing wounds at Masindi district general hospital after the sugarcane truck registration number UBJ 341M belonging to Kinyara Sugar Ltd overturned.

The incident happened this morning in Katagurukwa Village, Miirya sub-county, Masindi district.

The deceased has been identified as Akena Saidi, a resident of Pader district who has been a casual laborer at Kinyara Sugar Ltd.

Speaking to this publication at the scene, Ms. Shakilah Kusemererwa, an eyewitness, said that the main cause of the accident was over speeding.

‘’The driver was over speeding; he failed to navigate the corner, and the vehicle overturned,’’ she said.

Mr. Onenchan Brian, a survivor who is nursing wounds at Masindi district general hospital, said that the driver was speeding, and when they told him, he declined to reduce the speed, thus causing an accident.

‘’We advised the driver to reduce the speed but in vain, thus causing an accident,’’ he said, adding that after the incident, the driver and the other three survivors fled the scene.

Ms. Salome Asiire, a witness, however blamed the accident on the poor condition of the vehicle and the failure of the company to monitor and service it.

‘’The vehicle was in poor condition, and the company doesn’t monitor and service the vehicles,’’ she claimed, adding that the drivers overwork, something she said has been attributed to rampant accidents.

Kinyara Sugar Limited Corporate Communications Manager, Aldon Walukamba, confirmed the incident and said they are working closely with the police to crackdown on the driver, who is currently on the run.

‘’It’s unfortunate that the incident happened, and we condole with the family of the deceased, and we are investigating the actual cause of the accident,’’ he said, adding that their drivers are always taken for refresher trainings to reduce accidents.

We could not get a comment from the Albertine Region Police Spokesperson, Julius Allan Hakiza, by the time of publication since he didn’t respond to our reported phone calls.

By the time we filed our article, the lifeless body of Akena Saidi was lying at the Masindi district general hospital mortuary pending postmortem.

Recent incident

Last week, a Kinyara Sugar Ltd truck knocked a man dead along the Biiso-Masindi road.

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