The somber air enveloping Chodong Village-Kidongole in Bukedea district was palpable as family, friends, and well-wishers bid farewell to Lawrence Opesen, a promising 21-year-old student of Makerere University Business School (MUBS). Opesen’s untimely demise, discovered only after a fortnight of anxious searching, has left a community in mourning.
The sorrowful saga began with Opesen’s abrupt disappearance, which sent shockwaves through his circle. Two weeks of uncertainty followed until a tragic truth emerged from the shadows. Opesen’s life had been tragically cut short on his routine journey to campus.
The revelation, unveiled via social media platform X, by Joseph Beyanga, a confidant of the family, painted a grim picture. CCTV footage captured the heart-wrenching moment when Opesen was struck by a trailer at the Nakawa junction traffic lights on April 20, 2024, sealing his fate in an instant.
Born to Dr. Felix Ocom, a prominent figure as the deputy director of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre at the health ministry, Opesen was pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, with dreams as vast as his potential.
The heartbreaking turn of events prompted an outpouring of grief and condolences from near and far. St. Mary’s Kitende School, where Opesen completed his secondary education, expressed profound sadness at the loss, echoing sentiments of disbelief and sorrow shared by many.
Family member, Benjamin Prince penned a tribute, reminiscing about Opesen’s brilliance, energy, and ambition, now forever frozen in time.
Opesen’s passing casts a sobering shadow over Uganda’s roads, where the Uganda Police traffic report for 2023 paints a grim picture of escalating fatalities. With a 30% increase in road crash deaths from the previous year, totaling 4,179 in 2023, Opesen’s tragedy serves as a poignant call to action for greater road safety measures.
