Presidential advisor on media Joseph Tamale Mirundi has attributed ignorance and the frugal attitude of middle–class Ugandans, to the death of 33 people who perished in a boat accident which capsized on Lake Victoria last year.
Mirundi said on the fateful day, majority of revelers on the boat were rich, possessed high social status, but had no advisors and handlers to tell them what to do and how, something that dictated their fate.
Mirundi made the remarks during his popular TV program One on One with Mirundi on NBSTV hosted by Hajji Bashir Kazibwe on Tuesday.
Speaking about the tragedy that hit the country a year ago, the former Press Secretary for President Museveni said Uganda’s middle class tend to ignore services of advisors leading them to commit grave mistakes which are at times fatal.
On 24th November 2018, a boat named MV Templar carrying an unspecified number of revelers on a cruise trip, capsized on Lake Victoria killing 33 of its occupants. Majority of the occupants belonged to a middle-class status going on a joy ride, but only few had life jackets on.
Investigations later confirmed that the vessel was unfit to operate on the waters and lacked an operational license. The party-goers however did not know that for many of them, it would be their final moments alive.
On the boat, there were people from both the social and well-to-do class including Buganda Kingdom Prince David Wassajja.
Mirundi wondered how wealthy and people of status could embark on such journey without seeking advice to confirm the safety and insurance status of the boat. He said majority of wealthy Ugandans do not care about issues like insurance cover, risking their lives and property in the process.
Authorities in Uganda have since confirmed that no criminal proceedings have ever been taken to account for the lives of Ugandans who died in that tragedy since the owner of the killer boat Michael Bisase ‘Templar’ and wife Sheila also died in the tragedy.