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Police struggle to retrieve body after Masaka teen dies in 70-feet deep well
A police officer at the Shaduf well where the Steven Mugambwa died. PHOTO BY GERTRUDE MUTYABA
What you need to know:
- According to police preliminary investigations, Mugambwa was hired by the owner of Cheers Guest House to complete the well.
Police in Masaka City are still struggling to retrieve the body of a 19-year-old teenager who was trapped inside a 70-feet deep well on Sunday.
The victim, Steven Mugambwa, a resident of Kalaga-Kyalusowe in Masaka City, is believed to have suffocated inside a water shaduf (a hand operated device for lifting water) under construction at Cheers Guest House in Bulayi Village.
According to police preliminary investigations, Mugambwa was hired by the owner of Cheers Guest House to complete the well.
"We last saw him when he entered the hole on Sunday. We tried calling him, but there was no response," said Samuel Kato, one of the eyewitnesses.
Kato added that the deceased was buried under bricks that were being used to build around the Shaduf.
Gorreth Namugenyi said she last saw her grandson last week when he visited her home and informed her that he was going to Bulayi for some casual work.
"The information we received on Monday was that my Mugambwa has died. We rushed here to see what had happened. Unfortunately, his body is still trapped inside the well," Namugenyi said.
Southern Regional Police Spokesperson Twaha Kasirye said they are hunting for the owner of Cheers Guest House, who hired Mugambwa without proper licenses.
"Such work requires professional people with licenses, and we want to know from him how he sourced the person he hired," he said.
Kasirye added that they are waiting for a team of experts from the Police's Directorate of Fire and Rescue Services in Kampala to help retrieve the body.
Bulayi LC II chairperson Mathias Ddumba urged Masaka City authorities to ensure that all developers digging shaduf wells hire experts to do work.
"Early this year, a similar incident occurred at Kkingo Parents School, and one person died. Let it be a must that whenever someone wants to dig such a deep well, they get people who are qualified to do the work," he said.
