Grief has engulfed Kalungu District in Central Uganda after a teacher who was expected to officiate over the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) on Tuesday and Wednesday passed away suddenly.
Ronald Kimbugwe, 42, the deputy head teacher of St Immaculate Primary School, complained of feeling unwell on Saturday night shortly after watching the match between Liverpool and Arsenal, and was rushed to St Lawrence Hospital Villa, but was pronounced dead shortly on arrival.
Mr Ibra Muliira, a family friend who shared Kimbugwe’s last moments with this publication, said, ‘In the night, he (Kimbugwe) complained that he wasn’t feeling well and he was rushed to St. Lawrence Hospital, Villa Maria, where he died upon arrival. All this happened after he had watched a football match between Arsenal and Liverpool.”
He added that Kimbugwe’s untimely death happened hours before he prepared to embark on a journey to Rwampara District, where Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) had deployed him to work as a scout during the two-day PLE, which starts Wednesday.
Kalungu District Education Officer, Mr Moses Isabirye, expressed shock at the news, noting that Kimbugwe was part of 69 scouts who had finalised all their travel arrangements on Sunday and were expected to report to Rwampara District this Monday ahead of PLE exams.
‘I was shocked to receive a phone call in the morning that Kimbugwe has died; his colleagues are already on their way to Rwampara,’ he said
Kimbugwe is remembered as a great educationist who mentored many teachers in the district.
‘He was an inspiration to many teachers in the district and could give his best to deliver good results; we shall always miss him.’ M Rwampara said.
Another friend described Kimbugwe as a hard-working teacher who was worth running a school as a head teacher, though he was still serving as a deputy.
The source who asked for anonymity disclosed that Kimbugwe had told him that he was battling diabetes.
By press time, no postmortem report had been shared with the family.
A total of 920,833 candidates are registered to sit PLE at 16,478 examination centres.
Uneb spokesperson, Jennifer Kalule-Musamba, said they have deployed a total of 1,544 support personnel, 13,738 scouts and 162 district monitors.