Early Friday morning, Jimmy Ssekabitto, a 42-year-old correspondent with CBS Radio, was found unconscious near the Uganda Red Cross offices in Kampala and later pronounced dead at Lubaga Hospital. Witnesses reported that fluids were seen coming from his mouth and nose when he was discovered.
Ssekabitto had travelled overnight from Masaka to attend a 9 a.m. wedding Mass at Rubaga Cathedral, disembarking at the New Taxi Park around 5:40 a.m. and taking a boda boda toward the church. Less than half an hour later, he was found unresponsive on the roadside.
According to an eyewitness, boda boda riders rushed him to the hospital, but he was declared dead upon arrival. A medic at Lubaga Hospital revealed that one of the two men who brought him in disappeared immediately after they arrived.
Fellow journalists and close colleagues, including Jonan Jjumba and CBS News Editor Alex Nsubuga, expressed shock and sorrow at the loss, describing Ssekabitto as a committed, experienced, and Kingdom-loyal journalist. He had been covering news in Sembabule District and began his career at Radio Buddu in 2001 before joining CBS in 2003.
The Greater Masaka Journalists Association (GREMAJA) called for a thorough investigation, expressing growing concern over the safety of journalists in Uganda. Police from both Masaka and Kampala are jointly investigating the incident, with a postmortem report expected to provide further insight.
Ssekabitto’s death adds to a growing list of troubling incidents affecting media workers, raising broader concerns about the risks journalists face in the course of their work.
