Seeta High School has paid shs 6 million to cater for burial expenses to the family of Kevin Nsamba, a Senior Six student who tragically drowned in the school’s swimming pool under mysterious circumstances, as investigations continue into alleged negligence by school staff.
The development comes as more details emerge from CCTV footage, showing that Nsamba drowned on Sunday evening, August 3, 2025, during a swimming session that was reportedly supervised by a trainer identified as Dirisa Kato.
The video captures a group of boys jumping playfully into the school’s large swimming pool around 5:30 PM, in Kato’s presence.
Uganda’s standard swimming guidelines recommend ending sessions by 6:00 PM to mitigate drowning risks.
The footage later shows the boys exiting the pool, but Nsamba is never seen leaving and no one notices.
Students later reported to school adminisatration that Nsamba was missing, and a search began.
It wasn’t until midday the next day that his body was retrieved by Police in the presence of the school administration, the school doctor, and family members.
Sources within the school revealed that the administration delayed recovery of the body to avoid a repeat of a February 2025 incident when students forcibly accessed the body of a fellow student who had reportedly died by suicide.
“We had to wait for every party so that we avoid a situation that cast the school in bad light in February,” said a school official who requested anonymity.
The deceased’s body was taken to Mulago Mortuary, where Dr. Moses Byaruhanga, a government pathologist, confirmed that Nsamba had drowned.
The Police has since arrested Dirisa Kato, the pool guide, who is being held at Mukono Police Station on allegations of criminal negligence.
His file has been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and he is expected to appear in court soon.
Family members are now demanding answers on how a trained guide failed to notice a drowning incident under his supervision.
In Ugandan schools, it is customary for guides to inspect the pool after use, partially drain water, and cover it with a safety net a routine that appears to have been skipped.
“The guide is always the last to leave the pool, so how did this happen under his watch?” a family member asked.
Following public pressure and scrutiny, Seeta High School, which is owned by State Minister for Higher Education John Chrysestom Muyingo issued a payment of shs 6 million to the bereaved family to cater for burial expenses unlike in February when no school representative appeared on send off of Elishammah Ssesazi,who had allegedly committed suicide.
Nsamba has since been laid to rest at his ancestral home in Mpalampa in Bukomasimbi District on Wednesday.
Part of a Disturbing Pattern
This incident is the third fatality connected to Seeta High School in less than a year:
In February 2025, Elishammah Ssesazi, a 16-year-old Senior Three student, was found hanging in his dormitory under circumstances Police described as a suspected suicide.
In March 2025, Ivan Oloya, a 30-year-old teacher at the school, was brutally attacked and killed while walking home. Though five suspects were arrested, his family says justice has been slow and opaque.
These back-to-back tragedies have triggered widespread concern over safety protocols and administrative accountability at the school.
Earlier this year, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among called for an urgent probe by the Ministry of Education into the string of deaths and demanded strict enforcement of school safety standards.
In July, the Ugandan government launched the National Drowning Prevention and Water Safety Policy, mandating certified lifeguards, pool inspections, and water safety training in schools.
Yet Nsamba’s death suggests that enforcement of these policies is still lacking.
