A Ugandan company named Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited has come out to deny allegations that it played a role in the death of its employee, a Chinese national.
The company which is headed Captain Mike Mukula as its Chairperson is being accused of subjecting to cruel treatment one of its workers named Ji Zong Wu, causing his death two weeks ago.
However, through its lawyers of Kirunda and Wesige Advocates, Mahathi distanced itself from the allegations leveled by Mrs. Wang Yong Jie, the widow of the deceased.
Mrs Wang yesterday told reporters that her late husband Ji Zong Wu succumbed to health complications he sustained from his workstation.
Zong Wu, she said, died on September 11, 2021, at International Hospital Kampala (IHK).
Accompanied by her lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde from the Centre for Legal Aid, Yong Jie said her late husband was made to do forced labor at the company in Kawuku in Entebbe.
She said her husband was an ordinary wood-cutting machine mechanic in Jilin Province, China until 19 March 2020 when he was trafficked into Uganda, being disguised as a tourist.
“A naive simple machine fixer, and a man never trained for hazardous work on a shipyard, Ji Zong Wu was forced to do welding and metal-grinding work in a crowded and poorly ventilated environment for many hours a day, for almost 18 months; with no Labour contract, no rights, meagre pay, no health insurance, no work permit, no alien registration card, delayed pay and no sick leaves,” the widow said.
She added that her husband who was aged 51, met his death due to negligence and exploitation from his employers.
Mahathi Responds
However, speaking to reporters at Hotel Africana this afternoon, Mahathi lawyer Robert Kirunda said Mr Wu was never an employee of the company.
“That widow knows the real employers of her late husband, we only know his employers whom we contracted to do our work but he was not employed,” he said.
“It’s too unfortunate that this lady has come up to attack a company which did not at any chance employ.”
