Grief and fear engulfed Bwanga Boarding Primary School in Nyarushanje sub-county in Rukungiri district on Sunday afternoon when two pupils drowned in the school pond.

The Rukungiri district officer in charge of crime, Deo Kikomeko, identified the deceased as Joshua Akahiirwa, 10, and Reuben Nkurunungi, 12, both Primary Three pupils.

The pupils, together with others, reportedly escaped from the school to go swimming in the newly-constructed water pond 400 metres away from the school premises.

The headmaster, Alex Niwamanya, said: “We were not aware that the boys had left the school premises until one of the survivors told us his friends had drowned.”

A witness, Tugume Barnabas, also in Primary Three, said when one of their friends, Tweyendeze Isaac, swam across the pond, the two tried to emulate him, but they did not make it across.

The bodies were taken to Nyakibale Hospital for a post-mortem examination. They were later handed over to relatives for burial. Grief-stricken Demmy Akahiirwa, Akahiirwa’s father, said: “When I took my son to that school, I thought he would be safe, only to be called to collect his dead body.”

Nkurunungi was also laid to rest at his ancestral home in Nyarurambi village in Nyakishenyi sub-county. Kikomeko appealed to the school authorities to keep track of their pupils especially after classes, in order to avoid such incidents.

He said the Police would investigate the incident to find out if there was negligence on the part of the school administrators, adding that those found responsible will be charged with the offence.

The original article can be viewed HERE

Patson Baraire, New Vision Online

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