Lorita Asimwe: Final year varsity student killed in church collapse

The late Lorita Blessy Asimwe’s name appears on the list of Uganda Christian University (UCU) students that are due to graduate on July 2, with a Bachelor of Human Resource Management, having sat for her final exams in January.

But as her colleagues prepare to graduate and pursue their future dreams, the bubbly Asimwe will be awarded a posthumous degree.
The deceased died from injuries she suffered when a ceiling of an auditorium collapsed on her and other congregants at the House of Rest Church at Fido Dido building in Kampala during lunch hour prayers on Monday.

“She was set to graduate on July 2, at our next graduation ceremony. So as UCU, we shall award her with a posthumous degree,” Mr Frank Obonyo, the UCU communications and marketing manager, said.
A generous, outgoing and kind-hearted soul is what many spoke of the late. 

She will be dearly missed by both her family and friends, most of whom described her as a charming and jovial budding entrepreneur. Indeed many cherished her and her passing on robbed her six sisters and the entire family of a giant pillar in the offing.

Asimwe breathed her last on Tuesday while at Mulago National Referral Hospital where she had been rushed for treatment after the incident. 
Mr Emmanuel Opolot, a cousin of the deceased, described the late as a jolly person.
 
In a telephone interview with this newspaper, Mr Opolot revealed that the deceased had been employed as sales agent with a local beverage company he declined to reveal.

He said she fended for the family.
“She was a very jolly person and a sister who would always send me a message every morning to check on me. She has been a source of joy to us as a family,” Mr Opolot told Daily Monitor.

“Being the first born, we had a lot of hope in her. Even when she was a lively person, she was also a responsible citizen because she had a small business of Chupa ku Chupa from which she would earn a living and also support her sisters,” he added.

Chupa ku Chupa was a deal she had endorsed with beverage distributors to promote their brands, Mr Opolot said.

Ms Molly Kangume, a colleague who shared class with the deceased since 2017 when they both enrolled at UCU, described Asimwe’s passing as a shock, since she had been at a social event with friends the previous day.

“I got the news through her best friend. It was so shocking because at the weekend, she was out with her friends and even posted everything on her Facebook status,” Ms Kangume said. 

Mr Lawrence Kiganda, the deceased’s former class president at UCU, said unlike others who came to know Asimwe after her death, the deceased was largely a ‘party goer’ and enjoyed life to the fullest.
“Happening was her thing. You could hardly notice if she was annoyed or having a problem because she was always happy,” Mr Kiganda said.

He added: “She was a simple person who enjoyed her life to the fullest. She is dead but I am sure she is not regretting anything.” 

Asimwe was laid to rest yesterday [Wednesday] at Kangulumira in Kayunga District where family members and friends lauded her for her generosity.
The UCU guild president, Mr Kenneth Agaba, said the student community had been robbed of an exemplary person who inspired the girl-child within the university.

BACKGROUND
Profile
 She attended Blessed Primary School in Mutundwe, Kampala. She went to Bethany High school for her O-Level. Attended her A-Level at Pride College Mpigi, before joining UCU. She grew up in Mutundwe, Kampala. 

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