Africa-Press – Uganda. Friday the 13th, they say, carries a certain darkness. For staff at Next Media, February 13, 2026, could not have been darker.
At about 6:33pm, I received a call from my colleague Allan Mwesiga, bureau chief of the Bunyoro Sub-region. His voice carried urgency.
“Alex, someone has just called me using Julius Kitone’s phone. He says there is an accident in Kiruhura and that all the people in the car have died. Please confirm from authorities,” he said.
My heart raced. I immediately contacted the Regional Traffic Officer, Ndayishimiye. Moments later, he called back.
“The OC Traffic Sanga says there’s been an accident involving a drone car and a trailer. All occupants of the drone car have died, but there is one survivor being transported to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital,” he said.
Even as I processed this, calls from colleagues at headquarters began pouring in, one after another. Anxiety gripped me.
Holding onto the hope that Julius might be the survivor, I rushed to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Within minutes, I arrived at the emergency ward.
“I am here to find out the details of the Sanga accident survivor,” I told the health workers on duty.
“Not here yet. Hold on,” one of them replied.
At about 7:07pm, a Toyota Noah pulled into the emergency entrance. A victim was carried into the ward. Word spread quickly that all others involved in the crash had died except this one survivor.
I approached a young caretaker.
“Is he a victim of the Sanga accident?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“What’s his name?” I asked, bracing myself.
“He is called Sam.”
It was not Julius.
A shiver ran through me. I immediately wrote to our newsroom WhatsApp group: “Friends and colleagues, the only survivor of that accident is at referral and it is not Kitone.”
Meanwhile, at the Next Media Park in Kampala, management was also engaged in frantic efforts to ascertain the dreaded reality, clinging onto the last thread of hope.
The head of newsroom, Dorah Atwongyeire, who engaged several police leadership. A video call with the Regional Police Commander at the scene of the accident revealed the saddest thing about life – its absurdity, stripped bear in what appeared to be the lifeless body of Julius Kitone stuck in the co-driver’s seat.
“There is no confirmation so we are still praying that he still has pulse left,” she told the newsroom.
The team also attempted to officially identity Julius after getting ahold of a family member but initial efforts in the night shower via video calls were not positive in a coctail of grief, dread and desperate hope.
I then rushed to the hospital mortuary to check whether the bodies had arrived. They had not. Calls flew between police, colleagues, and other contacts. Social media posts had already begun circulating, some announcing “RIP” before official confirmation.
Despite the uncertainty, the reality had begun to settle in many hearts.
By about 9pm, rain began to fall heavily. Police released a statement confirming the accident, but without listing the deceased. Bodies were delivered to the mortuary after midnight, as four were still trapped in the wreckage.
Identification was not immediately possible. My colleague Ambrose Muhumuza and Edson Kinene of Uganda Radio Network joined me at the mortuary. We left and returned the next morning — Saturday, February 14, Valentine’s Day. To many, it was a day of love and celebration. To us, it was a day of grief.
Heavy rain fell from 4am. We arrived at the mortuary at about 9am. Seven of the eight victims from the Sanga crash had not yet been claimed.
Kinene and I entered the room where nine bodies lay. Muhumuza peered in behind us. We carefully examined each one until we found him.
Julius Kitone.
The right side of his head was severely shattered, and his knee suffered a compound fracture. The ninth body in the room belonged to another accident victim from the Mbarara–Isingiro Mile 15 crash that had occurred the same day.
Kitone’s body was isolated, and preparations for a postmortem examination began. Calls continued to pour in.
It was then that Next Media officially released a statement — a decision some later criticised, unaware of the careful confirmation process that had preceded it.
Family members arrived at about 2pm as funeral arrangements were made. The funeral service vehicle reached the mortuary at about 9pm, and shortly thereafter, the body left for Rakai.
Julius Kitone will be laid to rest on Monday in Kiteredde Cell, Magabi Ward, Ntantamuki Town Council, Kooki County, Rakai District.
Friday the 13th had delivered its blow. Valentine’s Day followed, hollow and subdued.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
