Survivors of 2023 Mpondwe school attack sit for UCE exams
Joseph Nzukwa, the headteacher at Kasese Secondary School, said that after the attack, the Bishop of Kasese Catholic Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Francis Aquirinus Kibira, decided to take care of the 11 survivors and enrolled them at his school, Kasese Secondary School.
Some of the Kasese Secondary School students that have began writing their 2026 UCE exams today. (Credit: Samuel Amanyire)
KASESE - At least four students who survived the attack by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels on Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School in June 2023 are going to sit for their Uganda Certificate of Education (U.C.E) exams at Kasese Secondary School in Kasese Municipality starting today (October 12).
On June 16, 2023, the ADF rebels attacked Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School located in Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Town Council, Kasese District, and killed 42 people, including 38 students, a security guard and three local residents. Eight other residents were injured during the attack.
Joseph Nzukwa, the headteacher at Kasese Secondary School, said that after the attack, the Bishop of Kasese Catholic Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Francis Aquirinus Kibira, decided to take care of the 11 survivors and enrolled them at his school, Kasese Secondary School.
Nzukwa explained that last year, six of them sat for their UCE exams and this year, four others will sit for their O'level final exams, while one other learner was transferred to another school.
"These survivor students had lost hope for education at the level of S.1 and S.2 when they were identified by Bishop Kibira and listed," Nzukwa said.
In early August, some of the survivor students of the 2023 Mpondwe school ADF attack gathered at Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Town council headquarters in a prayer session for their demised colleagues. (Credit: Samuel Amanyire)
Survivors' rehabilitation
Nzukwa disclosed that it was a gradual process to rehabilitate the traumatised students and prepare their minds for a fresh learning environment, including daily counselling and psychosocial support. He noted that Bishop Kibira spent a lot of time praying with them.
Nzukwa, who protected the survivor students from speaking to the media, revealed that one of them recounted to him a terrifying experience in which he lay silently beside the bodies of his slain colleagues to save his life
“The boy told me that he watched the men cutting his fellow students as they yelled loudly for help,” he said.
Nzukwa further said that although the 10 students had largely recovered from their trauma, each year on June 16, their memories return to the tragic incident.
Nzukwa reported that Kasese Secondary School has 216 senior four candidates and warned them against drug abuse, gambling and joining bad peer groups, which he said might affect their careers.
“Instead, you opt for acquiring computer knowledge and skills such as carpentry, welding, craft-making, among others,” he advised.