GM sugar supervisor crushed to death by machine he warned colleagues to avoid
Deceased, Samuel Kasumba. PHOTO/COURTESY/HANDOUT
What you need to know:
- A worker at the company, who wished to remain anonymous, recalled that Kasumba had consistently warned his colleagues to stay away from the machine before his untimely death. “Even before this happened, he would tell us not to go near it,” the worker said.
A supervisor at GM Sugar in Buikwe District was tragically crushed to death by a machine he had spent four years warning colleagues to keep away from due to its dangerous nature.
Samuel Kasumba, 24, a resident of Konko ‘A’ Village, Wakisi Sub-county, Njeru Municipality in Buikwe District, and supervisor of the Boiler Section, died on Wednesday morning while working the night shift. The incident occurred at around 4:00 am, according to a statement from Ssezibwa Region Police Spokesperson, Superintendent of Police (SP) Hellen Butoto.
“The Territorial Police in Njeru Division, Buikwe District have registered an industrial accident that occurred on March 12, 2025, at around 4am at GM Sugar Factory, Lugazi II, Njeru, Buikwe District,” the statement reads.
It adds: “It is alleged that the deceased, Kasumba Samuel, a supervisor at GM Sugar Factory, was on a night shift when the incident occurred. At approximately 3:47am, he went to clean the old boiler while it was still running. Unfortunately, the machine pulled him in, resulting in his immediate death at the scene.”
According to Ms Butoto, the body was transferred to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital Mortuary for a post-mortem examination, and investigations into the incident are ongoing.
Mr Henry Kiyimba, 54, Kasumba’s father, received the devastating news at around 4am. He described the call as “sounding like a bad dream.”
“One of his colleagues rang his father, who informed the area defence secretary, Twaha Tintyenkuba, to break the dreaded news to me. When I rang my son’s number, nobody answered and my worst fears were confirmed by another supervisor, who said he was dead,” Kiyimba said.
He added: “I was devastated by the news, especially by the fact that I had just spoken to him at around 7pm, an hour before he started his night (8pm to 8am) shift.”
Efforts to contact the company’s director, Milan Vithalbhaldobaria, were unsuccessful, with all calls and messages going unanswered. However, a source within the company confirmed that they would cover the deceased’s burial expenses, a statement later corroborated by Kiyimba.
“I spoke with someone from the company’s Finance Department, who said they would pay for the burial expenses, given that my son was a casual worker, not permanent staff,” Mr Kiyimba added.
Previous safety concerns
A worker at the company, who wished to remain anonymous, recalled that Kasumba had consistently warned his colleagues to stay away from the machine before his untimely death. “Even before this happened, he would tell us not to go near it,” the worker said.
Kasumba’s death raises concerns about employees’ safety at work, after a similar incident plagued the company last year.
On the evening of November 19, 2024, workers protested after their colleague was reportedly crushed to death by a machine in the sugar mill.
The angry employees repeatedly turned away workers who had turned up for the night shift, while accusing the owners of the sugar mill of “dumping the body at the mortuary before first notifying the police”.
Kiyimba said the deceased will be laid to rest today (Thursday, March 13) at Konko ‘A’ Village, Wakisi Sub-county, Njeru Municipality in Buikwe District.
He added that a team from the family and the company was at the mortuary to work out the necessary logistics to have the body brought to his ancestral home.
