Johnson Spencer Tumukunde,45, headteacher of Musamba Government Primary School in Rubaya Sub-county, Kabale District, has drowned in Lake Bunyonyi after the canoe he was in capsized. The accident occurred on Sunday at around 10:00AM, near Kyevu Landing Site and Market in Butanda Sub-county. According to Dickson Kamuhanda, an area resident, Tumukunde was crossing Lake Bunyonyi,the second-deepest lake in Africa, from his home in Nyamiryango Parish, Butanda Sub-county, to Musamba Church of Uganda in Rubaya Sub-county, where he was going to assist pupils attending Sunday school.
Kamuhanda says Tumukunde was travelling in the canoe with 21-year-old Rebecca Ndamwesiga when it was overturned by strong waves and capsized. He says both occupants fell into the water, but residents from Kyevu Landing Site rushed to the scene and managed to rescue Ndamwesiga. Tumukunde, however, disappeared beneath the water and had not been recovered by press time despite ongoing search efforts. Ndamwesiga was rushed to Kyevu Health Centre II for treatment.
Rubaya Sub-county LCIII Chairperson, Noah Mubangizi describes the incident as tragic, saying residents were devastated that a man who had set out to serve children during a church Sunday school programme lost his life before reaching his destination. Mubangizi attributes the accident to strong winds that generated large waves, causing the canoe to capsize.
He also says that neither Tumukunde nor the person operating the canoe was wearing a life jacket, a factor he adds greatly reduced their chances of survival. Mubangizi urges residents who use water transport on Lake Bunyonyi to always wear life jackets. Where life jackets are unavailable, he advises them to improvise with empty jerrycans as flotation devices to reduce drowning risks. He called on communities living around the lake to learn swimming skills as additional safety measure.
By Press time, Kabale district education authorities and police had not issued a statement about the accident. Drowning incidents on Lake Bunyonyi remain common. On April 21, 2026, Joyous Ampurire and her two-year-old daughter, Witness Akansasira, drowned after the canoe they were travelling in capsized while returning to Kitooma Parish in Rubaya Sub-county from a burial ceremony.
In August 2020, Johnbosco Tumuheki, Felix Arineitwe and Firicano Turyahikayo, all residents of Katetenkora Village in Nyamiryango Parish, Butanda Sub-county, drowned when the canoe carrying six passengers was struck by strong waves.
Earlier that year, in June 2020, two people from Muko Sub-county in Rubanda District also drowned in Lake Bunyonyi while travelling by canoe. Similar accidents have claimed lives on the lake over years.
In August 2016, five members of the same family,Thanks Turyagumanawe, his wife Loy Mukamasiimwe, their child Desire, Catherine Phiona and her child Grace, also drowned after their canoe capsized near Mushebeya in Buhumba Village, Kamuganguzi Sub-county, Kabale District.
In 2015, President Yoweri Museveni pledged to provide a ferry to serve communities around Lake Bunyonyi, where boats and canoes remain the main means of transport between Kabale and Rubanda districts. However, the pledge has yet to be fulfilled-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
