By KT Reporter
Geoffrey Mayanja Ssezibwa, 54, the director of JesyJonny Day and Boarding Primary School in Ngandu Village, Mukono Central Division, Mukono Municipality, is nursing serious injuries following a brutal machete attack by unidentified assailants.
The attackers, reportedly armed with pangas and riding on a numberless motorcycle while wearing face masks, ambushed Mayanja in the early morning hours on Sunday. According to family members, Mayanja had left home around 5:00 a.m. to check on teachers who had spent the night at the school.
His wife, Penninah Nakabuye, said that shortly after her husband’s departure, she began her morning prayers, only to be interrupted 26 minutes later by their son, who rushed in screaming that his father had been attacked near the school gate. “Our son came running and shouting that his father had been cut with pangas. I ran out in shock, only to find him lying in a pool of blood. He had deep cuts on the head and legs,” Nakabuye recounted tearfully.
Eyewitnesses said the attack occurred just a few meters from the school entrance. Primary Seven pupils who had arrived early for morning lessons reportedly saw the assailants hacking the school director and immediately raised an alarm. Their screams alerted the school’s security guard, who attempted to intervene but was overpowered and threatened by the attackers.
Mayanja sustained multiple deep cuts — six on the head and two on the legs — and was rushed by Good Samaritans to Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital, where he arrived in critical condition. Dr. Joyce Nannozi, the hospital’s medical superintendent, confirmed that the patient was brought in at dawn with severe injuries and heavy bleeding.
“We received a gentleman with several deep cuts on the head and other parts of the body. Our team managed to stop the bleeding and stabilize him. He has since undergone a CT scan to determine the extent of skull and brain injury. The good news is that he is now out of immediate danger, though he remains under close observation,” Dr. Nannozi said.
When our reporter visited the crime scene, bloodstains were still visible near the school’s entrance. Residents expressed fear and outrage, calling for urgent government action to address the rising insecurity in the area. Richard Luswata, a resident, decried the growing wave of machete attacks in Mukono.
“We are scared. These thugs move freely at night and even early in the morning. We need streetlights and security cameras around here. Our lives are no longer safe,” Luswata said. Former Mukono Municipality Mayor George Fred Kagimu condemned the attack, describing it as “barbaric and cowardly,” and urged police to intensify patrols. “We cannot sit back and watch innocent people being targeted. The community and security organs must work together to restore safety,” Kagimu emphasized.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango confirmed the incident, describing it as a case of aggravated robbery. “Our preliminary findings indicate that the victim, Mr. Geoffrey Mayanja Ssezibwa, was attacked by three unidentified assailants armed with pangas while exercising at Ngandu Cell, Ggulu Ward. The attackers were riding a motorcycle with an unknown registration number and made off with the victim’s Samsung Note 10 phone,” Onyango said.
He added that police officers had visited the victim in the hospital and provided medical forms for examination. Investigations are ongoing, and the police have developed leads in the case. This latest attack adds to a worrying trend of machete violence in Mukono. Just weeks ago, local businessman Godfrey Wanyengera was killed in a similar incident, sparking renewed calls for enhanced community policing and installation of street lighting in vulnerable areas.
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