Kamwenge District, Uganda — Police have launched an investigation into the sudden death of a Senior One student at Mpanga Senior Secondary School, a government-aided institution located in Mpanga Parish, Kahunge Sub-county, Kamwenge District.
According to Rwenzori West Police spokesperson, SP Vincent Twesige, the deceased has been identified as Martin Agaba, a resident of Kamwenge District. He was found dead in the school dormitory on the morning of Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
The school’s head teacher, Ms. Asaba Kameda, informed police that Agaba had a known medical condition—epilepsy—and was on prescribed medication.
“On Monday, April 14, the student attended preps and later went to rest. The following day, at around 7 a.m., a friend attempted to wake him up, but he was unresponsive. Other students quickly alerted the dormitory master, who confirmed that the student had passed away,” SP Twesige said.
Police visited the scene and transported the body to Rukunyu General Hospital for a postmortem as burial arrangements were being made.
Authorities suspect Agaba’s death was related to complications arising from epilepsy. A teacher at the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that Agaba experienced a seizure while sitting his Fine Art end-of-term examination the previous day.
“He fell ill during the exam, but his classmates helped stabilize him. Later, around 5 p.m., he had another episode but seemed to have recovered. He went for preps with the other students and returned to the dormitory afterwards. Unfortunately, due to heavy rain and noise that night, no one noticed that he became unwell again while sleeping. He passed away in his sleep,” the teacher said.
The teacher added that the school administration was informed early the next morning, after which the police and Agaba’s parents were notified.
School authorities reported that Agaba’s parents, who were aware of his condition, did not express any complaints upon arrival at the school.
“They knew their child had a chronic illness and understood the risks,” the teacher added.
