Toddler who drowned in River Wambabya still missing

Efforts to find the body of a missing two-year-old toddler who is alleged to have drowned in river Wambabya, Bugambe sub-county in Kikuube district last week have so far proved unsuccessful.

It is now seven days since Mubarak Akugizibwe, a 2-year-old drowned in river Wambabya in Nyaibaale village, Bugambe sub-county.

The toddler allegedly drowned as his mother was tending to a garden at the river bank.

The missing baby has been identified as Mubarack Akugizibwe, the son of Scovia Akugizibwe and John Asiimwe.

An eyewitness said the missing boy was playing with another child close to the river while his mother was digging a few metres away.

The area residents learnt about the incident after responding to an alarm made by the mother who was calling for help.

The village residents gathered at the scene and tried to search for the boy in vain. The search operations have been on since but the body had not been found.

Joseph Nkwatiramunda, the Bugambe LC3 chairman on Monday said all search efforts haven't registered any success to locate the body and they are considering calling it off.

Nkwatiramunda said it is a devastating experience for family and the community in the area since it had never happened.

He said the community search efforts were boosted by marine police officers but they could not discover the body.

He said they suspect the body could have been swept far away by the large volumes of water.

Julius Allan Hakiiza, the Albertine region police spokesperson when contacted said he is yet to get a report from the marine police unit but promised to get back to New Vision.