Tragedy in Mbarara: Missing Ntare Student Found Dead in River Rwizi

The body of a 19-year-old Ntare School student, Elvis Magambo, has been found floating in River Rwizi, days after he was reportedly suspended from school and went missing. His death has shocked both his school community and the city of Mbarara.

Elvis, a Senior Five student, had recently been indefinitely suspended from Ntare School for allegedly escaping from the school compound. According to school officials, he had climbed over the perimeter wall one evening to attend a nearby trade show at Kakyeka Stadium, an act the school described as a serious case of indiscipline.

Following this incident, the school’s headmaster, Saul Rwampororo, wrote to Elvis’s father, Dr. Emmanuel Magambo, informing him that his son had been excluded from school. The letter noted that the matter would be discussed further by the school’s Board of Governors.

Days later, Elvis went missing from home. His disappearance was reported at Koranorya Police Station on July 2, 2025. The search continued until the evening of Thursday, July 10, when a body was spotted by residents floating near the Nyamitanga Bridge in River Rwizi, in Kasanyaraze Cell, Kakoba Ward, Mbarara City.

According to the Rwizi Regional Police spokesperson, SP Samson Kasasira, police officers from Mbarara Central Police Station rushed to the scene after being alerted by local residents. The body, initially unidentified, was recovered and taken to the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital mortuary for a postmortem examination.

Kasasira confirmed later that the body had been identified as Elvis Magambo, the son of Dr. Emmanuel Magambo, a medical worker at the same hospital. “It has been confirmed that the deceased is 19-year-old Magambo Elvis, a Senior Five student at Ntare School,” Kasasira said in a statement. “We offer our condolences to the family. Investigations into his death are still ongoing.”

What began as a suspected drowning has taken a darker turn. Dr. Emmanuel Magambo revealed that the postmortem showed his son had been stabbed before being dumped into the river. The findings have raised serious concerns about what actually happened to Elvis during the days he was missing.

Elvis’s death has left his family and community in deep grief. A requiem service was held at Makenke Church of Uganda in Mbarara City North Division, where friends, classmates, clergy, and mourners gathered to pay their last respects to the young student.

Many are now calling for a thorough investigation to find out the truth behind Elvis’s final days, how a disciplinary case turned into a disappearance, and how a suspended student ended up stabbed and left in a river. Questions are being asked not only about school discipline policies but also about the events following his suspension.

The police have opened a death inquiry, and they continue to call on anyone with information to come forward. As of now, the family is waiting for answers and justice for a young life cut short far too soon.