UPDF Brigadier's child killed by reversing car
The casket containing the remains of Brig Augustine Kyazze's six-year-old son lying in the compound before burial on December 19, 2021. PHOTO | WILSON KUTAMBA
What you need to know:
- The deceased’s siblings who were seated in the cabin reportedly heard someone scream and asked the driver to stop and check, but the latter did not hear and drove away.
A sombre mood engulfed Brig Augustine Kamyuka Kyazze’s country home at Kabale - Bugonzi Village, Nyendo -Mukungwe constituency in Masaka City on Sunday morning after his six-year -old son Adrian Kyakulumbye was knocked dead.
Brig Kyazze is the deputy chief of logistics and engineering in Uganda People Defense Forces (UPDF).
According to Mr Matia Kaguugube, a family friend, the driver of the UPDF double-cabin truck attached to Brig Kyazze was reversing to go and buy some poultry feeds when he accidently knocked the boy dead at around 8am at the army officer’s home.
The deceased’s siblings who were seated in the cabin reportedly heard someone scream and asked the driver to stop and check, but the latter did not hear and drove away.
A few minutes later, Mr Kaguugube said Brig Kyazze, who was inside the house at the time of the accident, made frantic phone calls to the driver asking him to immediately come back and rush the boy to health facility.
By that time, Adrian who was severely injured on the head, was bleeding from the nose, according to Mr Kaguugube .The victim was rushed to a nearby clinic, but died upon arrival.
Brig Kyazze said he made quick efforts and contacted his superiors in UPDF to have the injured boy airlifted to Kampala for better management, but it proved too late to save his life.
“How the young boy left his siblings and moved behind the car to get knocked is something difficult to explain, as believers we just say it was God’s plan and leave it at that,” a sobbing Brig Kyazze said.
Mr Kaguugube said Brig Kyazze had just brought the brand new double -cabin a day before and in the night the excited children asked him for a ride which he accepted and did early in the morning.
The boy was buried on Sunday evening at their home.
Among the mourners was the Chief of Defense Forces, Gen Wilson Mbadi, and Minister for Defense and Veteran Affairs Vincent Ssempijja .
Mr Ssempijja asked the bereaved family to seek comfort from God for the loss.
“It’s a big tragedy that have befell this family, losing a young soul abruptly is so devastating and it is only God that can make you firm in these trying moments," he said.
Gen Mbadi said he received a phone call from Joint Chief of Staff Maj Gen Leopard Kyanda, informing him that Brig Kyazze' son had got an accident and wanted a helicopter to airlift him to Kampala.
"As we were finalizing to dispatch the helicopter, we got the sad news that the injured toddler had passed on," he told mourners.
Mr Mansoor Magembe, a veteran truck driver in Masaka City with experience spanning 40 years, said one of the most fundamental skills any driver has to master is how to drive in reverse. He says reversing requires special skills, which are highly emphasised during training of drivers.
He noted that the driver seems to have ignored rule 109 of the Highway Code, which stipulates that, “never reverse your vehicle unless you are sure that there are no children or pedestrians or anything in the way in the blind area behind your vehicle.
“Unfortunately many motorists fail this test and many have knocked stationary objects, other vehicles and people, especially children who eventually die,” he said.
