Several journalists from various media platforms have bang the tables, protesting what has come to be described as a perceived indecent sending of their fallen colleague Julius Kitone, a journalist with NBS TV under the Next Media Company, whose life perished in a road carnage on Friday evening.
Journalist Kitone according to the police, was travelling in a commuter taxi, drone registration number; UBQ 016U which got involved in a head-on collision with a trailer registration number; KDQ 668L/ZH 5133 Benz Actros, at Kibega 1 in Kiruhura district on Lyantonde- Mbarara road.
It emerged that the drone which was coming from Mbarara to Kampala, was overtaking when the accident occurred, leaving all its occupants eight in number including journalist Kitone dead on spot.
Kitone’s terrible accident news was broken by one of his workmates Moses Namayo in the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) WhatsApp group at around 6:30 pm, informing the media fraternity of how he had been involved in a deadly road carnage, calling upon individual colleagues to singularly send out prayers for his already complicated health.
At around 9: 20 pm in the night, Kitone was confirmed dead, sparking wailing, grieving, and mourning amongst journalists and several media practitioners, of the man whom many praised to have been good, humble and calm with a remarkable contribution left behind to the sector.
Since then up to Saturday mid-morning, Kitone’s employing media house NBS TV had remained tight lipped with no any mention made regarding his death across all its social media platforms, triggering an uproar among several field and desk reporting journalists, sharply criticizing the NBS TV Management for what was called the payment of minimal respect to their employer who has served the Naguru based television station since 2016 for good, for worse and for better.
Kitone’s Sendoff Spark Journalists Uproar.
Considering that Kitone’s employer had not done the needful, several journalists started sending posts in the UJA’s WhatsApp group, attacking the TV management for failing to accord their colleague a respectful sendoff.
Making a reference to the several NBS TV social media posts that usually breaking the sadden news touching various persons, the journalists wondered why it had become elusive for them to presage the one for their employee, yet the secondary care takers including among others, the Uganda Journalists Association, Vision and Nation Media Groups had treated his demise as a priority.
Around 11:20 am on Saturday, the Next Media employers had finally issued a statement regarding the fallen journalists sadden departure, following sustained criticisms.
Kitone’s Vigil Arrangements Stock More Fire.
When a printed-out flier announcing Kitone’s vigil arrangements came through at around 1:25 pm afternoon, more criticism was sparked from some journalists, castigating Omuka Restaurant in Naguru- Kampala, a venue that had been announced to host the vigil on Sunday 15,2026, at 4:00 pm.
According to the critics, Kitone had left behind a house on a property that he owned, and therefore, holding his vigil at a Restaurant was an affront on his legacy and African culture that bars such.
In a defensive response one of the NBS TV junior employees explained that Kitone’s home was not spacious enough to accommodate the planned vigil, before he could add that all its occupants had travelled to the village ahead of his burial, but in vain.
Sharp criticisms mounted sustainably as a section of the already irritated journalists disparaged the vigil organizers, insisting that some other alternative venue would have been reserved for the fallen journalist’s vigil instead of the said Restaurant.
Interim burial arrangements indicate that Kitone will be raid to rest in Kooki on Monday.
May Your Soul Rest in Peace comrade Julius Kitone, until we meet again.
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