The tragic death of Elvis Magambo, a 19-year-old Senior Five student at Ntare School, has sent shockwaves around the country.
This, after his body was recovered from River Rwizi with stab wounds, raising many more unanswered questions.
Initially, it appeared to be a missing person case but now it has turned into a murder investigation.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at Makenke Church of Uganda in Mbarara City North Division on Friday to bid farewell to the teenager, whose life was cut short in circumstances that have left his family and the broader community demanding answers.
Dr. Emmanuel Magambo, the deceased’s father, revealed during the service that a postmortem report from Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital confirmed his worst fears.
His son had been stabbed before his body was dumped in the river, indicating a deliberate and violent crime rather than an accidental drowning.
Magambo had been indefinitely suspended from Ntare School on June 28th after returning late from a Saturday outing, a disciplinary action that may have inadvertently placed him in harm’s way.
According to Wilson Ndeze, the Deputy Headteacher in charge of Academics, the student had jumped over the school’s perimeter wall around 8:00 p.m. after attending a trade show at Kakyeka, leading to his suspension on June 30th for violating school rules.
The young man, who was pursuing a BCM combination, had gone missing from his home in Makenke on Wednesday, sparking a search that ended tragically when his body was discovered in River Rwizi on Thursday evening.
Ndeze expressed deep sorrow over the incident, noting that the school’s board of governors had yet to meet and decide whether Magambo would have been allowed to return to complete his studies.
As police investigations continue, it is unimaginable how this crime has shattered a family and shocked an entire region.
