Family buries wrong body
Sep 04, 2007
<b>Son survived UPDF crash</b><br><br>There was more consternation among the family of Mzee Kasubure in Bushenyi, Ishaka town council when they realised that they had buried the wrong body.
Son survived UPDF crash
By Chris Ahimbisibwe & Steven Candia
There was more consternation among the family of Mzee Kasubure in Bushenyi, Ishaka town council when they realised that they had buried the wrong body.
Their son, Private Kato Edson, who was said to have perished in the Kapchorwa road accident on August 26, is alive. He is being treated at Mbuya Hospital for injuries sustained during the crash.
The discovery was made by a neighbour who was visiting a patient at the hospital. Upon recognising the 28-year-old soldier, the neighbour reportedly stammered: “But you were buried a few days ago.†After which Kato assured him: “But I am here, you can see, I am alive!â€
Another relative travelled to Kampala yesterday to check on him. “Our brother is alive and we have already talked to him,†his over-joyed brother, Milton Kasubure, told The New Vision.
He added that they had taken up the matter with the District Internal Security Officer (DISO) of Bushenyi.
The burial of the perceived Kato had been fraught with controversy as relatives doubted the identity of the body when it was delivered to them by the UPDF on Friday.
“My son had a missing nail on one of his toes and a scar on one of his hands. You cannot confuse me,†his weeping mother, Nalongo Kasubure, exclaimed, prompting the army to take the coffin back to the lorry.
The relatives then asked the soldiers to open all the coffins on the truck. Kato was eventually thought to be found and buried.
The new discovery leaves the UPDF with the pressing question of who the person who was buried in Bushenyi is.
“We have told the DISO to arrange to exhume the body,†Kasubure said. The DISO, he added, had accepted but told him that, in case the body was not claimed, the army would have no option but to burry it in the barracks.
Army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye said he did not have any information on the matter. He, however, did not rule out the possibility of a mix-up.
“I still need to verify that information but there could have been a mix up, given that a big number of the victims were from that side and the coffins were not being opened when they were delivered,†Kulayigye said.
A total of 75 people were killed and 56 wounded as they travelled on an army truck from Bukwo district to Amudat in Nakapiripirit district for redeployment.
Among the dead were 58 soldiers, 13 wives, two children and two foetuses that were removed from their mothers to be buried separately. The wounded are still being treated in various hospitals in Kampala and Tororo.
Initial reports indicated that the semi-trailer they travelled on rammed into a rocky embankment of a mountainous road in Kawowo sub-county due to brake failure. The driver allegedly survived by jumping out of the truck.
No official list of the dead or the injured has been released. Some bodies reportedly have still not been identified. The army has launched an investigation into what caused the accident.
Defence minister Dr. Crispus Kiyonga has promised to release the findings within one month.
By Chris Ahimbisibwe & Steven Candia
There was more consternation among the family of Mzee Kasubure in Bushenyi, Ishaka town council when they realised that they had buried the wrong body.
Their son, Private Kato Edson, who was said to have perished in the Kapchorwa road accident on August 26, is alive. He is being treated at Mbuya Hospital for injuries sustained during the crash.
The discovery was made by a neighbour who was visiting a patient at the hospital. Upon recognising the 28-year-old soldier, the neighbour reportedly stammered: “But you were buried a few days ago.†After which Kato assured him: “But I am here, you can see, I am alive!â€
Another relative travelled to Kampala yesterday to check on him. “Our brother is alive and we have already talked to him,†his over-joyed brother, Milton Kasubure, told The New Vision.
He added that they had taken up the matter with the District Internal Security Officer (DISO) of Bushenyi.
The burial of the perceived Kato had been fraught with controversy as relatives doubted the identity of the body when it was delivered to them by the UPDF on Friday.
“My son had a missing nail on one of his toes and a scar on one of his hands. You cannot confuse me,†his weeping mother, Nalongo Kasubure, exclaimed, prompting the army to take the coffin back to the lorry.
The relatives then asked the soldiers to open all the coffins on the truck. Kato was eventually thought to be found and buried.
The new discovery leaves the UPDF with the pressing question of who the person who was buried in Bushenyi is.
“We have told the DISO to arrange to exhume the body,†Kasubure said. The DISO, he added, had accepted but told him that, in case the body was not claimed, the army would have no option but to burry it in the barracks.
Army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye said he did not have any information on the matter. He, however, did not rule out the possibility of a mix-up.
“I still need to verify that information but there could have been a mix up, given that a big number of the victims were from that side and the coffins were not being opened when they were delivered,†Kulayigye said.
A total of 75 people were killed and 56 wounded as they travelled on an army truck from Bukwo district to Amudat in Nakapiripirit district for redeployment.
Among the dead were 58 soldiers, 13 wives, two children and two foetuses that were removed from their mothers to be buried separately. The wounded are still being treated in various hospitals in Kampala and Tororo.
Initial reports indicated that the semi-trailer they travelled on rammed into a rocky embankment of a mountainous road in Kawowo sub-county due to brake failure. The driver allegedly survived by jumping out of the truck.
No official list of the dead or the injured has been released. Some bodies reportedly have still not been identified. The army has launched an investigation into what caused the accident.
Defence minister Dr. Crispus Kiyonga has promised to release the findings within one month.