Tanzanian trailer driver dies behind the wheel in Uganda

Ugandan police in Kalungu District are investigating circumstances under which Tanzanian a trailer driver died behind the steering wheel driving on highway road, local publication DailyMonitor reports.

An eyewitness, Mr Herman Kafeero said a 56-year-old Mudrikate Suudi Kaigi, was driving a fuel tanker from Kampala, en route to Masaka when it suddenly stopped in the middle of the highway.

“When we saw the trailer, we thought armed robbers had staged a roadblock but when more motorists came, we moved closer only to find the driver dead behind the steering wheel,” Mr Kafeero said.

The incident is said to have happened on Monday night.

Traffic along the busy highway was paralyzed until 11 am Tuesday when the long queues of vehicles from either side of the road were cleared.

The Officer in Charge of Lukaya Police Station, Mr Vianney Birungi, said several attempts were made to tow away the truck but it was too heavy for the available tow trucks to manage since it was carrying fuel.

“The driver had locked himself from inside. So, we smashed the windscreen to remove the body and a certain driver helped us remove it from the road,” he said.

Mr Birungi said they are still waiting for a post-mortem report to establish what exactly caused Kaigi’s death.

“The body has been taken to Masaka Regional Hospital for autopsy and we hope the report we will get will guide our investigations,” he said.

The driver had no assistant with him.