The first message landed in the newsroom at exactly 6:39pm.
“Team, someone has called me on Kitone's phone saying that the owner of it has died of an accident. Someone please help check on Kitone if you have some of his relatives please.”
The message, sent by videographer Julius Yiga Bakabaage, froze the newsroom. It was Friday, February 13, 2026. Shock quickly gave way to denial. Phones rang. WhatsApp calls were placed and replaced. Colleagues clung to hope that it was a mistake, a cruel mix-up, perhaps even a phone stolen at an accident scene.
Frantic efforts followed to verify what had happened, with earnest prayers that Kitone had survived and been rushed to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital.
At 7:38pm, confirmation arrived from Alex Mugasha, the Next Media Mbarara bureau chief, who had gone to the hospital himself. His message was brief and devastating: “Friedns and colleagues, the only surviver of that accident is at referral and it is not Kitone.”
In that moment, the reality settled.
Julius Kitone, the journalist whose trademark ojigi-style respectful bow greeted every desk in the newsroom, was no more.
The journalist who seemed to have every contact anyone ever needed had lost contact with this side of the world and was in that moment in the other.
Born in February 1991, Kitone joined Next Media in 2020. Over six years, he grew into a dependable general reporter with a strong focus on climate change reporting.
He covered several global environmental events and consistently pushed for deeper attention to climate issues, often advocating for the subject with quiet persistence.
Kitone did not know how to get angry; he only knew how to dispense humility. The closest he came to visible frustration was in telling one of his editors that he would one day join international agencies in his climate change advocacy work — a remark that was less boast than belief, his understated way of asserting that he was a capable journalist deserving of respect and understanding.
Poignantly, at 5:57pm - just 30 minutes before he was no more - Kitone shared what would unknowingly become his farewell message on the newsroom group. Posting a cabinet mockup, he wrote: “Congratulations to Uganda. Secured 3 key positions at the [East African Community] Federal Executive Committee.”
He ended with humour, teasing colleague Sam Ibanda that he had been taken unawares by the development yet “I have been securing those stranded in the Russia-Ukranian War”.
Even in his final hours, he was reporting, joking, engaging — present.
In an internal communication to staff, management announced “with deep sorrow” the passing of their colleague following the road accident along the Mbarara–Sanga road, noting that both police and his family had confirmed the news.
The message recalled that Kitone, born in February 1991, joined Next Media in 2020 and would be remembered for his “dedication and contribution to the Next Media family.”
It extended “heartfelt condolences” to his family, friends and colleagues, adding that funeral arrangements would be shared once confirmed.
Police in Rwizi Region confirmed that the accident at Kibega I village along the Mbarara–Lyantonde highway claimed eight lives and attributed the crash to reckless driving.
But beyond the police file and the tragic statistics lies the fuller story: a young journalist driven by purpose, defined by gentleness, and remembered for a slight bow that spoke volumes about the man he was.
