What Mr Eriya Mugabi, 18, last remembers is being struck fiercely by the paw of the big cat. The sheer force that the leopard exerted on his head was overwhelming. Mr Mugabi immediately passed out once he hit the ground. When the teenager woke up, he was occupying one of the beds at Kiryandongo Hospital. His elder brother, Richard Mutebi, who also faced off with the big cat in the April 2, 2026 incident was not as lucky. The injuries he suffered were fatal. He was pronounced dead shortly after being wheeled into the hospital.
The human-wildlife conflict that played out at Bujjabe Village, Nakitoma Sub-county in Nakasongola District spanned no more than two minutes per various eyewitness accounts. Recent parliamentary oversight reports indicate that Uganda records nearly 7,000 annual incidents, up from 2,000 cases five years prior. There is a lot of speculation as to how a big cat ended up in a eucalyptus forest at one of Nakasongola District’s nondescript villages. Nakitoma Sub-county has five villages-Bujjabe inclusive-that border the Zziwa Rhino and Wildlife Sanctuary. Many believe that the leopard escaped from the sanctuary.
Mr George William Musisi, 66, was the first to come into contact with the leopard. The grandfather of Mutebi and Mugabi was just 80 metres from his abode when the life-changing episode started to play out. ‘I had gone to collect some firewood at about 5pm on April 2, 2026 when I saw the leopard next to the dry piece of wood that I tried to pluck from a tree branch near the eucalyptus forest that is just a few metres away from my home. I made an alarm that attracted my two grandchildren to the forest,’ he told the Weekend Monitor.
Deadly intervention
Mutebi was the first to respond. Unbeknownst to Mutebi, a big cat was charging at him. His panic-stricken grandfather had only managed to run to a nearby garden before suddenly losing consciousness. It didn’t take long for the leopard to overpower and maul Mutebi. Mr Mugabi, who also attempted to spring to the rescue of his elder brother, was no match. Responders found the two youth lying in a pool of blood, fighting for their lives. ‘I did not know that these two children had responded to my alarm. I wouldn’t have advised them to attack the Leopard because we were not prepared to fight such a wild creature,’ Mr Musisi, the grandfather of the two youth, said.
After evacuation to Kiryandongo Hospital, a distance of about 35km from Bujjabe Village, Mr Mugabi was referred to Mulago National Referral Hospital. The life-threatening injuries he suffered necessitated major surgery at a higher medical facility. Mr Mugabi spent five weeks bed-ridden at Mulago before being discharged. While he is happy, if not lucky, to be alive, he still faces excruciating pain. Both literally and metaphorically. ‘I feel great pain in the sides of my neck and often find it difficult to turn my neck. The deep wounds inflicted on my body including the neck, the back side, the hands are yet to heal. I can’t lift any heavy object and turn my neck. I pray that my family gets the prescribed drugs to ensure that my health gets better,’ he disclosed in a recent interview with the Weekend Monitor.
Spot of bother
The incident has since left the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in a spot of bother at one of the country’s sleepy districts. The leadership at Nakitoma Sub-county in Nakasongola District claim that five villages that border the Zziwa Rhino and Wildlife Sanctuary live in a big scare after the attack. When the UWA team dispatched from Kampala City got to Nakitoma, three days after the attack, it failed to track down the big cat. Since then, residents in Nakitoma Sub-county’s villages, including Bujaabe, Kokkoba, Kyamukonda, Kasozi and Bugalamwa, have been on tenterhooks as the whereabouts of the leopard are unknown to date.
The residents are also demanding a quicker compensation process for the family that not only lost a dear but has a survivor victim who badly needs further medical treatment. Mr Godfrey Lutalo Muwonge, the former Nakitoma Sub-county chairperson, who has been in contact with the UWA team, the delays in compensating victims that have lost property, including gardens destroyed by wild animals, is a reality. ‘My appeal to UWA is quick response. We don’t want to lose the life of the 18-year old whose relatives are struggling to access the prescribed drugs that are very expensive,’ he said.
Mr Muwonge added: ‘The 18-year old mauled by a leopard needs financial help. UWA recently gave the family the compensation forms to fill and get the required documentation needed for compensation, but the process is often delayed by officials that fail to assess the situation and help the affected communities.’ Mr Bashir Hanji, the UWA spokesperson, confirmed that the Authority is aware of the Nakitoma incident. He said UWA extended some help including assistance to the bereaved family. The compensation process had also been initiated, he further disclosed.
Funding gaps
While human-wildlife incidents are on the increase in the country, the 11th Parliament heard in February that the Uganda Wildlife Compensation Scheme is running on fumes. The House Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry reported that a paltry Shs3.9 billion out of a possible Shs7 billion had been remitted to the scheme. ”The law is clear that two percent of revenue collected by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) must be allocated to the Compensation Fund yet this has not been done. As a result, victims are left without the support they are entitled to,” the Committee report reads in part. Discrepancies in pay-outs were also illuminated.
Whereas the law prescribes a maximum payment of Shs20 million for deaths, the Committee ‘observed glaring inconsistencies in the compensation process’. The absence of a ‘clear formula’ meant that while some victims received Shs10 million, others got Shs28.7 million. A section of conservationists and wildlife experts said the conflict between humans and wildlife in Uganda has been on the increase in recent years because of the growing human population. The growing numbers have exerted pressure on the wildlife natural habitat. Mr George Livingstone Gizamba, a conservationist and founder member of Safe for Nature Love (SNL), told the Weekend Monitor that several of the human-wildlife conflict incidents are never officially recorded but remain a big concern in Uganda.
Security fencing
While human deaths have been met with shock, as they should be, there has been a conspicuous silence about wildlife deaths due to human activities like encroachments. In the report of the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry, the slow progress in installing electric fences around Queen Elizabeth National Park (spanning 100.5km) and Murchison Falls National Park (spanning 153.5km) was captured. The Committee noted that leaving vast sections of the area unprotected leaves several communities vulnerable to attacks such as the one that claimed Mutebi’s life.
Conservationists said there should be a delicate balance with the ultimate goal supposed to be co-existence with wildlife. In April of 2022, a first was registered after three lions were electrocuted at Queen Elizabeth National Park’s protected area, Rubirizi District. In 2019, President Museveni commissioned an electric wire fence in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Rubirizi District. It was then piloted under the auspices of Space for Giants and the government of Uganda (UWA).
The electric fence has since been extended to other parts of the park in Kasese District. The fence comprises wires that connect through treated wooden pillars. Untampered with, the pillars, which are about five feet high, can last between 30 and 40 years. The wires are connected to constant solar-generated electricity and fitted with live spikes that protrude either side of the mainline. The fence emits a repulsing current that scares the approaching animal away.