By Kikomeko Pius
On August 7th, 2025, a team from the project to advance Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment (OSHE) knowledge and skills in Uganda visited the Isimba Hydro Power Plant for its second industry stakeholder engagement. The project, a collaborative effort among Makerere, Busitema, and Kyambogo Universities, is supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK. The team was led by Dr. Abubaker Matovu Waswa, the Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Makerere University’s College of Engineering, Design, Art, and Technology (CEDAT), who is also the Principal Investigator of the project.
The visit to the run-of-the-river hydroelectric plant, managed by the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL), focused on understanding the real-world application of OSHE principles and fostering collaboration between academia and industry.
During their meeting, the generation manager for the Isimba station and key staff members, especially those involved in health and safety, shared a template highlighting the most significant risks they face in daily operations. These included terrorism threats, theft by the local community due to the challenges of unemployment, and land grabbing. The UEGCL team also outlined their comprehensive safety protocols, which include mandatory induction sessions for all new staff and visitors. These sessions cover essential safety information such as noise warnings, emergency evacuation procedures, awareness of slippery and uneven surfaces, and a strong emphasis on the correct use of safety gear and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Further demonstrating their commitment to safety, the Isimba team highlighted several internal practices, including daily morning toolbox talks to review health and safety guidelines, the use of hazard observation cards, which are accessible to all employees for reporting potential hazards, and regular first aid and firefighting training for all personnel.
The UEGCL team also highlighted ongoing challenges such as water weed buildup, rising water levels, riverbank erosion, and unauthorized community access to the site.
Dr. Abubaker Waswa Matovu, the OSHE project lead, underscored the urgent need to integrate Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment (OSHE) knowledge into Uganda’s engineering profession. He highlighted a troubling rise in fatal incidents involving engineers and emphasized that raising awareness is the first critical step toward reducing workplace hazards. Dr. Matovu also advocated for a holistic approach to safety, asserting that OSHE should not be confined to the workplace but must extend into the broader community to foster a culture of safety in everyday life.
The engagement concluded with a tour of the hydro site, where the OSHE project team conducted a summarized safety audit. The tour covered key operational areas, including the turbine rooms, transformers and the dam spillway.
The visit to the Isimba hydropower station serves as a prime example of an industry stakeholder that holds OSHE as a critical and focal part of its day-to-day operations, providing invaluable insights for the project’s goal of enhancing safety standards across Uganda.