It was just a matter of weeks until Mwesigye Jim Reeves would make his parents proud by completing his four-year Water Engineering Resources degree, but this will never come to light.
Mwesigye, the Busitema guild cabinet speaker was one of the three students who on Saturday drowned in Lake Victoria at Sangalo Beach in Majanji sub-county, Busia District.
He drowned along colleagues Emolu Nathan a year one student both offering engineering in water resources and Demosha Asiimwe, also a first-year student offering a bachelor of engineering in mining had all gone to Sangalo sand beach to attend a handover party of the Teso Students Association.
“We saw Mwesigye’s body about 30 minutes after he had drowned,” Shadrack Khaukha, the guild minister for education said.
The first two groups of students who were playing a game in the water were hit by a huge wave; they joined their hands to fight the wave and came out with no problem.
Khaukha said the third group, compromised the deceased, also joined in but a stronger wave came, hit and separated them.
He said Mwesigye, who knew how to swim, tried to rescue Emolu and Asiimwe, but before he could pull out Asiimwe, whose hand he was holding out of the water, another wave swept him, separating them.
At this point, fellow students sensed danger and tried calling for help from beach management, but nobody came to their rescue, adding that they watched their friends drowned.
Police arrested Peter Ochali, a bar attendant at the beach who had coordinated the party but his colleague Christine Shewunda claimed that the 34 Busitema students had arrived at the venue while drunk and carrying sachets of waragi and were swimming while intoxicated.
Busia DPC Wilson Tumwesigye, said Mwesigye’s body had already been handed to his parents who had a vigil on Sunday night at Nalumunye, Entebbe.
Burial is tomorrow in Itendero, Migina near Kabwohe.