Man electrocuted while catching grasshoppers

Nov 23, 2014

A 25-year-old man has died by electrocution as he trapped grasshoppers in Kagadi town, Kibaale district.


By Ismael Kasooha

KIBAALE - A 25-year-old man has died by electrocution as he trapped grasshoppers in Kagadi town, Kibaale district.

Only identified as Alikiriza, the gatherer was reportedly killed when he came into contact with a live wire that was connected to a metallic drum used to collect the insects, a local delicacy.

It is the grasshopper season, and many locals are taking advantage of it by either collecting the insects (locally, nsenene) in the fields, or by trapping them using light. In the latter case, they stuff an iron-sheet into a drum positioned next to a source of light.

The light attracts the insects, which bounce off the iron-sheet and into the drum. The catch is then packed into sacks and sold – mostly wholesale – to the market. It is a lucrative business.

But for Alikiriza’s case, it turned out a deadly affair.

Local police at the Kagadi Police Station confirmed his death, with the post’s in-charge Joseph Ayesiga telling New Vision that the young man was electrocuted during the activity.

This happened on Thursday night at around 9pm local time (EAT).
 

true
These two women went ahead to collect what they could at the same spot where Alikiriza was electrocuted. PHOTO/Ismael Kasooha


An eyewitness and resident of the area said she heard people make alarms that a person had been electrocuted.

““When I heard the alarm I rushed to the scene and found him lying dead on the ground – dead,” Evasi Kabasebeni told New Vision.

The man, popularly known as Mutooro, was said to be a native of Rwimi sub-county in Kabarole district.

Police said that when they were notified of the news, they got to the scene and took the body to Kagadi hospital mortuary.

Meanwhile, Charles Rutinampora, an inspector with Ferdsult Engineering Company – that manages electricity in several districts in the region – said there was no illegal power connection but that the problem could have come from wrong wiring.

 “There was no illegal connection on our side but they could have used a fake electrician to connect the wire to the grasshopper trap [drum],” he said.

The actual owner of the drum, Cecilia Namwanje, was summoned by police to record a statement regarding the incident.

The police dismantled the whole site and had the power to the building disconnected to avoid more problems.

They also called on the relatives of the deceased, whose personal and family details were scanty, to collect his remains or else be buried in a public burial ground.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});