Fueling station boss shoots self dead over debts- witnesses

Allan Atubo is said to have shot himself using one of the security guards’ guns in his office at the Oil Energy Fuel Station in Kisekende Village in Mubende Town Council on Monday evening.

Mr Ibrahim Kiggundu, the councillor of Kisekende Ward at Mubende Municipality said he heard a gunshot inside the office of the victim at around 7 pm and thought a security guard was behind the shooting.

When he and other responders rushed to the scene, they found Atubo, a resident of Kisekende Village in South Division, Mubende Municipality dead.

“We have been told that he had accumulated a debt of about Shs4 million which I suspect might have forced him to die by suicide,” Mr Kiggundu told this reporter on Tuesday.

Detectives from Mubende Central Police Station said they recovered the killer weapon which they found lying in between Atubo’s legs.

“Our preliminary findings indicate that on Monday (June 24, 2024) at about 3 pm, Atubo returned from Mubende Town and asked his assistant, Sharon Subukirwe to inform her husband to lend him Shs3 million. Shortly after that, he started shedding tears while carrying his two-year-old daughter,” Wamala Region Police Spokesperson, Mr Racheal Kawala noted.

She added: “He[Atubo] then later proceeded to his office and later at about 7 pm while Hillary Ajoiga ,a security guard at this fuel station had gone to sign for a gun for duty at the office, he found Atubo lying in a pool of blood.
Ajoiga immediately informed the assistant manager who later reported the matter to police. Findings indicate that the Atubo had multiple debts.” However, the incident paralyzed normal operations at the fuel station.

Reports indicate that guards attached to Samurai Security Company Ltd which provides services to the fueling station keep their guns inside the manager’s office when they are not on duty, which Ms Kawala said is an act of negligence by the private security company.

She said two private security guards have been arrested to help them with investigations.

Atubo’s body was taken to Mubende Hospital for postmortem.
Early this month, police expressed concern over a spike in suicide cases across the country. This was after registering several reports of suicide with men dominating the victims list.
The World Health Organization indicates that more than 700,000 people die by suicide every year under different circumstances, mostly attributed to depression.

WHO also reports that suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds globally.

A report by the Ministry of Health, Uganda National Institute Public Health-UNIPH Quarterly Epidemiological Bulletin, indicates that Uganda has a high suicide rate with men at a higher risk than women.

What experts say
In a recent interview with this publication Mr Drabe Godfrey Yiki, Mental health Expert said loans, family-related issues, underperformance at workplaces and lack of mental health sessions at work has greatly contributed to some of the suicides in the country.

“Lack of mental health sessions at workplaces has greatly contributed to mental health issues and suicides in the country. Many Ugandans are dying with loans and debts and they don’t have anyone they can openly discuss such issues,” Mr Drabe said.
Adding on, “Human resources should organize open sessions at workplaces, in such sessions everyone is allowed to share his/her emotions and challenges with others.”

Mr Drabe urged the government to also put in place mental awareness campaigns on how Ugandans can access help.

The fuel station where Alan Atubo was working