The stories of the 10 Freedom City victims

Police named the victims of a stampede that left 10 people dead at the Freedom City Mall, on the Kampala-Entebbe Road on New Year’s Eve. They include children, mothers, sisters and brothers. They died during a stampede, while attempting to exit the mall and watch the fireworks display that ushered in the new year.

As rounds of finger pointing continue to flow on who is to blame for the tragedy, authorities say specialist teams are already underway with investigations into the matter.

Already, Abbey Musinguzi, alias Abtex—the promoter behind the concert that birthed the tragedy—was remanded after nine charges were preferred against him.

Daniel Kibuuka and Daniella Kibuuka

The portraits of the lives that were lost have started to emerge as respective families deal with deep-seated losses. One such family are the Kibuukas—Gabriel Kibuuka and Prossy Nakasi Mulindwa—who this week laid to rest their children. While Daniel, 7, was a Primary Four pupil at Golden Primary School, Ggangu, his sister Daniella, 14, was in Senior Two, at  Serona Secondary School, Ggangu.

On the fateful day, their mother says she went to Freedom City with four children, including the deceased, their two-year-old sibling, Dalton Kibuuka; and their nephew, Fahad. 

On arrival, the older children played and swam in the pool until around 8pm when the swimming pool and other children play areas were closed.

The children requested to stay quite longer at the venue, something their mother allowed. By around 11:40pm, she was in the queue to make her way out of the mall premises with the children, when the stampede happened.

Ms Mulindwa—who was at risk of losing control of the children entrusted to her care—thought it wise to carry the two infants. This left Daniella and Daniel on their own. Soon, Ms Mulindwa lost sight of her two children. Unknown to her, they had suffocated during the crowd surge.

Dr Sam Kibuuka, the father of the children, says it was around 2am—after mounting various frantic searches—that they found the children dead at different clinics on Entebbe Road. 

Daniella’s school described her as a great athlete who had a bright future in the sport. The deceased were buried on January 3 at Kakumiro in Masindi District.

Maria Namyalo

Remembered as a loving, caring and jolly woman, Namyalo was only 30. She was the proprietor of Pentagon Salon that needs little introduction to locals in Ndejje-Zzanta.

Namyalo’s death was brought to the knowledge of her family by her workmate who informed them of the stampede after various attempts to contact the deceased on her phone.

Mr David Stride, the father of Namyalo’s partner, describes the deceased as a loving and caring woman. He further disclosed that Namyalo was set to introduce her lover to her parents in the near future.

“Maria was a fiancé to my son Dallen Stride and she was set to introduce him soon to her parents. I had Christmas with them and I guided them through the process,” he said.

She was buried on Wednesday in Bugeye, Katonga off Masaka Road and is survived by a young daughter and her mother, Ms Takiya Naluwooza.

Viola Nakanwagi

The 18-year-old was a daughter of Richard Bukenya and Scovia Namugenyi. She was in Senior Four vacation. Her father describes her as a good girl who loved all her friends. She was also a good academic performer. Her body was discovered at a neighbouring hospital later. She was buried on December 3 at Watuba, Matugga off Bombo Road.

Margaret Nakatumba

Nakatumba, 32, was a daughter of Henry Lwanga and Oliver Milly Basuuta. She lived in Kanyanya, where she operated a general merchandise shop for more than 10 years.

A close relative told us that the deceased bravely battled sickle cell disease only to die during a crowd surge.

On the fateful day, she was fulfilling a promise she made to her two nieces and a nephew who she had earlier promised to take to Freedom City for the New Year’s fireworks display. While the children survived, Nakatumba did not make it out alive.

A family member says they learnt about her death through her boda boda rider who had brought the children back home. He was meant to pick them up after midnight as earlier agreed.  Nakatumba was buried in Kasawo, Mukono on January 2. She is survived by a four-year-old daughter.

Hikmat Nazaama and Ibrahim Kizito

The siblings were the children of Dr Haruna Seruli and Hanifa Zalwango. Nazaama, 13, and Kizito, 11, were in Primary Six and Five, respectively. They were both at ABC Primary School, Kitetika.

Their father took them to the celebrations at Freedom City.

“While in the corridor amid shoving, I fell down and on getting back on my feet I could not locate my children,” their father says.

He adds that later when they were announcing unconscious children and adults outside, he failed to find them. He finally chanced on Nazaama, who had been taken to a clinic for attention. He later took her to Kiruddu Hospital where she died.

He put her body in his car and drove back to Freedom City to continue the search for Kizito. At that time, the place had been condoned off by police.

“I later learnt that my son Ibrahim had also died when I reached Katwe Police. They were driving the bodies of all the deceased to Mulago mortuary for postmortem certificates. I asked them to give me my son’s body, so I drove him in my car to Mulago, which they agreed to under their supervision,” he says.

“Being Muslims, we had to bury our children right away with all the mixed feelings and confusion. At around 11am, we moved to Mulago and picked the bodies for burial,”  Dr Seruli says.

They were buried on January 1 in Buyenga, Butambala District.

The other two deceased persons include: John Doe and Shafik Mwanje, whose relatives could not be contacted by presstime yesterday.

Hadijja Nakakande

Nakakande, 16, she was a daughter of Umar Kasule and Angel Nansikombi. Her guardian, Mr Fred Kikambi, says on the fateful day, Nakakande was supposed to be at home but fer friend Viola Nakanwagi, who also died in the stampede, persuaded her to go to Freedom City.

Mr Kikambi says before leaving, Nakakande sent him some cash via Mobile Money for the new year celebrations.

Nakakande and Nakanwagi went with other friends from the village. Nakakande died at Cowesa Hospital in Kabowa, where she had been taken with other stampede victims to receive treatment.

The deceased had paused her education after she gave birth. 

She was buried last Wednesday, at Kiko, Kitalya in Mityana District. She is survived by a one-year-old and a five-months old son.