Three families rush to River Nile to claim body of missing teen

A relative holds the portrait of Hamza Kiyimba who had been missing since May 17, 2018. PHOTOS BY DENIS EDEMA

What you need to know:

  • He reportedly went missing on May 17, 2018.
  • Hamza Kiyimba is said to have left behind a note and a phone which were discovered by a security officer at Nalubale Bridge.

Three families on Monday gathered at River Nile to claim the body of a 17-year-old boy which was discovered floating on River Nile.
Hamza Kiyimba’s body was retrieved by Njeru Police after it was seen floating on River Nile at about 10:00am, drawing each of the families who claimed to have reported a case of a missing male two weeks ago.
The Ssezibwa Regional Police Spokesperson, Ms Hellen Butoto, said the deceased was taken to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital mortuary to be claimed by relatives as investigations continue.
Mr Hassan Katagula, a resident of Walukuba in Jinja, whose nephew, Julius Katagula, a fisherman went missing two weeks ago, thought the body was for his nephew but it wasn’t.

“We have come to see whether this body is for my missing nephew whose search commenced two weeks ago but he is not the one,” Mr Katagula said.
Mr Yusuf Ssebuguzi, an uncle to the deceased he was staying with his grandfather in Kireka and disappeared last Thursday.

Police transporting the body to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital immediately after retrieving it from River Nile on May 21, 2018


“I don’t know why my nephew decided to travel all the way from Kampala to Jinja to die,” he said.
Mr Francis Kitalwanga from Mayuge District also turned up to see if the body was for his father, Francis Okulinga who disappeared from Mayuge while threatening to kill himself.

A security officer at Nalubale Bridge who spoke to this reporter on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press, said last Thursday, a phone was dropped on the Bridge with a chit scribbled on: “I have left the world for you people”.
“We decided not to switch off the phone and waited for callers but others feared to share information that referred them to Njeru Police Station to claim for the phone. It was not until today that it was discovered that the owner committed suicide by drowning himself into River Nile,” the security officer said.
The deceased will be buried in Kalungu in Masaka District.