Search for drowned student enters third day

A second-year student of construction and building at Tororo Technical Institute Mella on Saturday morning drowned in River Malaba from where he had gone to wash his feet after garden work. 

The intensive search to retrieve the body of Stephen Enapat entered the third day on Monday without significant success. Enapat, 22, hails from Molo sub-county in Tororo district. 

Enapat together with his colleagues had gone to weed a maize garden that was established by the Teso Students Development Association members in the institute. 

A combined force of students, community members and the Police are combing the flooded river whose banks have burst due to the continuous downpour.

However, their efforts are being frustrated by increasing volumes of water which also cut off the murrum Tororo-Busia road that connects Osukuru and Buteba sub-counties. 

According to the school principal Daniel Mwesigwa, the deceased and the friends under their association Teso Students Development Association had gone to till after which they proceeded to the river to wash up and it was at this point that Enapat slid and drowned.

"It is an unfortunate situation that we had least expected. Last Friday we had an assembly where we requested each student to be extra careful with whatever they are doing because examinations near," Mwesigwa said. 

Nekemiah Opolot a student who witnessed Enapat's drowning said they cautioned him against wading into the deep waters but he ignored them. 

Opolot said that after realising that their colleague had drowned they attempted to rescue him but they were unable to swim in the flooded river. 

Gladys Imadu another student said they have lost a friend who had love for everyone at the institute.