Students Richard Mayanja (L) and Harunah Muliika Kyaze tragically passed away on Sunday.

KALANGALA - Shock has gripped residents, teachers and students on Bukasa Island after two students drowned in Lake Victoria on Sunday, April 27, 2025.

The deceased have been identified as Harunah Muliika Kyaze, 14, the son of Buwazi Primary School headteacher Justine Nalukwago, and Richard Mayanja, 14, a son of a woman only identified as Nakitende.

According to Elizabeth Nazziwa, a teacher, the two students had requested permission to watch a football match at the Nakibanga Landing Site playground. 

However, upon reaching the site, they decided to go swimming first and return later for the match.

“Their bodies have been retrieved from Lake Victoria, and burial arrangements are ongoing,” said Nazziwa.

Both were Primary Seven candidates preparing to sit for their Primary Leaving Examinations this year. Drowning incidents involving students are not common in the Ssese Islands.

Kyaze’s burial will take place in Wakiso district today, Monday. 

For Mayanja, burial arrangements have not yet been revealed, as he was a single-parented pupil being supported by the school management in his studies.