The body of a 45-year-old head teacher of Musamba Government Primary School in Rubaya Sub-county, Kabale District, has been recovered from Lake Bunyonyi, six days after he drowned in a canoe accident.
The deceased, identified as Johnson Spencer Tumukunde, a resident of Butebe Village in Nyamilyango Parish, Butanda Sub-county, drowned on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at around 10:00 a.m. after the canoe he was travelling in capsized.
The accident occurred near Kyevu Landing Site and Market in Butanda Sub-county as Tumukunde was crossing Lake Bunyonyi, Africa’s second-deepest lake, from his home in Butebe Village to Musamba Church of Uganda in Rubaya Sub-county, where he was going to assist pupils attending Sunday school.
Tumukunde was travelling with 21-year-old Rebecca Ndamwesiga when the canoe was overturned by strong waves. Both occupants fell into the water, but residents from Kyevu Landing Site responded quickly and managed to rescue Ndamwesiga.
Tumukunde, however, disappeared beneath the water and was swept away. Reports indicate that neither of the occupants was wearing a life jacket.
Dickson Kamuhanda, a resident of the area, told our reporter that Tumukunde’s body was recovered on Friday at around 12:40PM.
Kamuhanda says all efforts by local residents and the Marine Police to locate the body had been unsuccessful. The search was only concluded after the body was spotted floating on the surface of the lake.
By press time, residents were still gathered at the scene as arrangements were being made to transport the body to his home for burial preparations-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
