Chinese widow drags Mukula and Mahathi to court
A Chinese widow has sued Mike Mukula and Hustle Mahathi Infra Uganda over the death of her husband, Ji Zong Wu.
The widow told media today at Club Obliggatto in Kampala in a Press briefing that “They killed my husband!”
Through Advocate Isaac Ssemakadde of the Centre for Legal Aid, the widow says her husband died of exploitation and human sacrifice.
According to the Chinese widow, the late Ji Zong Wu was an employee of Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited, a local branch of Mahathi Infra India. These firms are the owners and lead promoters of Mahathi Fuel Transport and Storage Depot project, which is in Bugiri –Bukasa Village near Kawuku in Entebbe Wakiso District.
Ji Zong Wu (51) was an ordinary wood-cutting machine mechanic in Jilin Province in China until 19th March 2020 when he was trafficked into the country by traffickers disguising him as a tourist visiting Uganda for one month.
After entering Uganda, he was received by Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited. The company reportedly subjected him to all manner of violations including but not limited to confiscation of his passport, overstaying his visa, forced and illegal employment. He, finally, died due to the company’s outrageous negligence.
A native simple machine fixer, the man had never trained for hazardous work on a shipyard. Ji Zong Wu was reportedly forced to do welding and metal-griding work in a crowded and poorly ventilated environment for many hours a day. He worked for almost 18 months with no labour contract, no rights meager pay, no health insurance, no work permit, no alien registration card, delayed pay and no sick leaves.
Investigations indicate his traffickers were highly contracted to a few rogue elements or the government, an advantage the traffickers used to disadvantage, threaten and intimidate all those who appeared to raise voices over the poor working conditions.
It’s for this reason that late Ji Zong Wu was submissive to the Mahathis’s oppression to the point of death!
His case is legal because Mahathi Infra brought him in to work without work permits and until his death, this fact was hidden from the relevant authorities in Uganda.
His widow Warg Yoog Te, aged 51 trekked the long journey from China supported by friends who financed her travel to seek for justice for her husband whose life has been out short by negligence by the company.
With no remorse for the death of Ji Zong Wu, Mahathi Infra further refused to compensate his widow for the loss of her husband, the bread winner for the surviving dependants.
These dependants are Wang Yong Yie the deceased’s 80-year-old mother, and an 18-year-old daughter.
The events surrounding Ji Zong Wu have a wide range of ramifications. The late Ji Zong Wu, was recruited by Mahathi Infra early last year under false pretences from Jilin Province, Yanji City, China. He passed away in the hands of Mahathi Infra on 11 September 2021 under unclear circumstances.
Subsequently, Mahathi Infra exerted undue influence and a campaign of misinformation and/or disinformation on the clearly distressed illiterate grief-stricken, feeble and vulnerable widow of Ji Zong Wu to abandon the path of justice and simply return to China. This is because this company is apparently a consortium of untouchables!
The findings are that Ji Zong Wu was initially suspected of having contracted a disease that would have alarmed Ugandans (gangrene), although the physicians at IHK eventually ruled this out.
Isaac Ssemakadde says his illness was concealed, and he was neglected because the company did not want to publicize his condition, knowing its consequences on the health of Ugandans.
The employees operate in horrendous conditions. The company does not comply with labour laws and the local content rules and regulations. They bring in foreign labour without work permits, and they detain their passports without informing their families.
They did not give them sufficient income and do not pay National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and PAYE dues for these workers.
Majority of the workers of this company are Chinese and Indians, which means that they are denying Ugandans the chance to do even manual work.
For example, many migrant workers at the Mahathi site are dishwashers, cleaners, and drivers of pickups, etc which is something Ugandans can do.
The company is also engaging in International Human Trafficking forced labour and servitude. According to Migration Data Portal, Human Trafficking is growing leaps and bounds across the world. In 2020, there were 106,613 individual cases of human trafficking from 164 countries of exploitation and involving 17 nationalities.
The official National Statistics (UK) (2020) notes indicate that there were 5,144 modern slavery offenses recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2019, an increase of 51% from the previous year.
Although Uganda doesn’t collect reliable statistics, it is clear from the above statistics that Human Trafficking is a serious matter that needs to be prevented throughout the world.
When migrant workers fall sick, their employees circumvent the Ministry of Health, thereby creating potential danger for Ugandans if an epidemic breaks out from their operational site.
HUMAN SACRIFICE ALLEGATIONS
Mahathis deliberately delayed treatment of Ji Jong Wu. They denied him optimum and adequate treatment. They failed to repatriate him to China, where he could get optimum treatment and care. Furthermore, they also concealed the sickness of late Ji Jongfrom his family until only 84 hours before his death.
There are allegations that some foreign construction companies in Uganda are deeply involved in human sacrifice for the success of their projects.
The lawyer, therefore, called upon the government of Uganda to quickly investigate into this matter and bring the culprits of this barbaric act to book as soon as possible. They also called upon the government of China to step in and fight for the justice of their citizen late Ji. Zong.
They are also concerned that the matter at this company and its operations, has dragged the name of His Royal Highneess Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi. The ship that is built by this company, seeks to manipulate the name of the Kabaka.
They are astounded by the fact that the Katikiro of Buganda did not do enough due to diligence on the company, which would have otherwise averted this dilemma.
The lawyers hold the Chairperson of the Company, Captain Mike Mukula to account for these problems. He has a case to answer.