A Senior One student at Lake Bunyonyi Community School in Kabale District has drowned in Lake Bunyonyi while attempting to swim.
The deceased has been identified as Roland Ampeire, 18, a resident of Butenga Village, Kitooma Parish, Rubaya Sub-county in Ndorwa West County, Kabale District.
Ampeire had gone with fellow students to wash clothes at the lakeshore in Bufuka Village, a scenic lakeside community, at around 10:30am on Sunday.
The school head teacher, Yonah Ainembabazi, said the student told his colleagues that he wanted to swim using a jerrycan but drowned shortly after entering the water at around midday.
Ainembabazi said he was informed about the incident at around 1pm.
He said the students had sought permission to wash their clothes at the lakeshore because of water shortages at the school.
“The students had thought of washing along the lake because there is congestion at the school water tank,” Ainembabazi said.
He added that prolonged drought and lack of water on the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) supply line had left most of the school’s water harvesting tanks dry, leaving only one functioning tank.
“Because of the water shortage, the students sought permission from the school patron for the boys to wash their clothes along the lakeshore,” he said.
Efforts by the school administration, local divers and the Marine Police to retrieve Ampeire’s body were ongoing by Sunday evening.
“We are trying to work hand in hand with the local divers together with the Marine Police to see how we can retrieve the body. We have not retrieved the body yet,” Ainembabazi said.
CUE IN AINEMBABAZI…ON THE MATTER…RR/ENG//
By press time, police had not issued a statement regarding the incident.
The incident comes barely two weeks after the head teacher of Musamba Primary School in Rubaya Sub-county, Johnson Tumukunde, 45, drowned in Lake Bunyonyi.
The late Tumukunde drowned on July 26, 2026, and his body was retrieved on July 31, 2026.
