How two Marine cops vanished on Lake Albert

CRIME | SUSPENSE | INTRIGUE

Two marine police officers vanished on Lake Albert in November 2022, their fate unknown. A routine patrol turned into a deadly ambush, leaving haunting questions unanswered. 

This investigative report uncovers the chilling events, the desperate search, and the families left in limbo, writes Ibrahim Ruhweza.

The night was eerily silent on the waters of Lake Albert, originally known as Mwitanzige. The only sound was the rhythmic hum of the Police boat as it cut through the darkness, leaving gigantic waves behind. 

For the four marine police officers from the Kanara detach in the Ntoroko district, Rwenzori region, it was supposed to be a routine patrol. 

However, danger lurked beneath the surface as the moon cast its silver glow on the rippling waves. By dawn, two officers and their boat were missing. 

The blood-stained deck was the only grim reminder that the past had returned with a vengeance. The night patrol had turned monstrous for the comrades-in-arms. 

It was November 2022. The family has never seen the two marine officers again. Their bodies were also never recovered. So, where are they?

The attack 

On the evening of November 8, 2022, Sgt. Sam Namunyu led his team — Capt. Michael Mulyamboli, Police Constable (PC) Alfred Watumu and PC Davis Asiimwe — on a routine patrol. 

At 10:00am the following morning, a frightening call came through. The voice on the other end belonged to a Uganda People’s Defence Force intelligence officer stationed in Kagadi district. 

His message was simple yet devastating: The patrol team had been ambushed by suspected militia forces from the DR Congo. 

The officer further revealed that only two officers had escaped the onslaught — Asiimwe and Watumu. When they arrived in Kagadi, they said their survival was a miracle. 

They were also unable to recount the horror they had escaped. All they said was that Namunyu and Mulyamboli, along with the boat and four loaded rifles, had vanished into the abyss of DR Congo rebels. 

The search was immediate. Helicopters skimmed the lake’s surface, while marine units and ground forces combed the shores, hoping for any sign of their missing men. 

Blood spatter patterns on the surviving officers’ uniforms and the direction of bullet entry suggested a close-range attack — ambush-style. 

The attackers had been waiting. But how had they known the patrol route? And, more importantly, why then?

Crime scene investigation teams examined the uniforms and personal effects recovered from the wounded officers, sending forensic samples to the lab for further analysis. 

“Ballistics experts identified the bullets extracted from Asiimwe’s wounds as consistent with rifles used by Congolese militias. This was not just a random attack — it was planned,” a senior marine officer, who was assigned to rescue the two officers, said. 

The survivors’ fragmented testimonies painted a harrowing picture. In the dead of night, their boat had been flanked on both sides by two shadowy vessels. 

Namunyu’s children. According to the law, if a police offi cer goes missing while on duty, after six months, his or her family members start benefiting from his estate, including salary.

The attackers, speaking a mixture of Lingala and French, had opened fire without warning. The patrol unit had no time to react. 

Bullets sprayed the deck as the officers dived for cover. Asiimwe remembered the sharp pain of a bullet tearing through his arm before plunging into the freezing water. 

That was the last thing he recalled before waking up on the shore. Surveillance footage from border security posts revealed suspicious movement days before the attack. 

A network of informers hinted at a well-coordinated militia operation targeting Ugandan security forces in retaliation for recent crackdowns on smuggling routes. 

But why take the officers? Was it ransom? Or something far worse? Every second counted. The kidnappers had a head start and if the officers were alive, they would not be for long. 

Intelligence intercepted radio chatter among the suspected militia, indicating movement towards eastern Congo’s interior. 

A daring cross-border rescue mission was imminent. But as Ugandan forces geared up for a high-risk extraction, the deeper question loomed: Was this attack just an isolated incident or the beginning of a larger conflict brewing beneath the surface of Lake Albert? 

Reports from officials indicate that while patrolling Lake Albert waters between Mulango and Katolingo islands, they came into contact with suspected Lendu/Wangiti militias. 

Three marines were put out of action and one casualty was taken to the Kicho landing site in the DR Congo. Four submachine guns were seized and the dead body was taken.
 
“Sergeant Namunyu, force number 38266, was the only one who narrowly survived death, but was taken along with the suspected group of DR Congo militia,” an intelligence officer told New Vision. 

For about three years now, the search for Namunyu and Mulyamboli has yielded nothing. 

The spokesperson of the Police, Rusoke Kituuma, said the two marine cops were attacked during a routine patrol of Lake Albert. Despite efforts to recover them, he said, all hints indicate that there is no hope. 

“The Uganda Police Force has maintained contact with their relatives, but we have advised them to let the Police do its work diligently. We treat them as missing persons, but after three years of missing, that is when we shall declare them dead. At the moment, they are taken to be missing persons because that’s what the law says under the Estates of Missing Persons Act,” Kituuma said. 

Police said the two officers were taken captive and transported across the border into the DR Congo. 

“So that is the current position. We cannot assume that they are dead because there are very specific procedures we follow to prove death. But by law, come November 8, if we fail to locate them, then we shall pronounce them as dead persons,” Kituuma added. 

According to the law, if a police officer goes missing while on duty, after six months, his or her family members start benefiting from his estate, including salary. 

However, relatives of Namunyu and Mulyamboli are yet to benefit from this legal provision. They have also not received any tangible information on the whereabouts of Namunyu and Mulyamboli.

Family yet to benefit from estate 

Lydia Bikhole, the wife of Sgt. Sam Namunyu, said she spoke to her husband two days before the fateful day (November 8, 2022). 

“We discussed the need to plant beans on a large scale and boost our household income. After two days, I got bad news that he had gotten into an accident and died, although his body could not be seen anywhere. I asked for the body, but I was later told that he is missing,” she said. 

Bikhole said she has also tried to access her husband’s earnings to take care of their two children, but she has been turned away by police officers in charge.

However, police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma said: “Nobody can access the earnings of missing persons except when they are applied for. So, what the law requires is that for a missing person, after six months, the beneficiaries can apply to court. So, in other words, there is a procedure, and it is very clear in the Estates of Missing Persons Management Act.” 

Bikhole told New Vision that Namunyu was born in 1986 in Aukoto village, Manafwa district. “He joined the police in 2007 when he was just 21 years old. We have six children,” she said.