Hope for Finding Drowned Madi Okollo Boy Fades

The hope of finding the body of a teenager who drowned in Acha Stream, a tributary to the River Nile in Madi Okollo district is fading as the search goes through the fifth day.

Gerald Aliti, 18, a resident of Ewanani village, Gbulukuatuni Parish in Rhino camp sub county drowned on Monday while on a fishing expedition.

Preliminary reports indicate that Aliti met his death at around 2 p.m. It is alleged that Aliti went on a fishing expedition together with five unidentified fishermen on the fateful day. 

He drowned while attempting to cross the flooded stream after being swept by the strong water waves.

Geoffrey Arima, a resident of Ewanani village, Gbulukuatoni Parish in Rhino camp Town council told Uganda Radio Network in an interview on Friday that although the local divers and fishermen have searched both upstream and downstream, they have yet to come across any possible clue.

“The local divers have searched everywhere but have failed to get the body. This morning the divers returned to the stream to search for the body for the last time. We don’t know whether they will get it”, Arima noted.

According to Charles Andama Ombia, the Local Council two chairperson of Gbulukuatoni Parish also the deceased’s paternal uncle, they have so far organised prayers twice in order to aid the search but efforts of the local divers over the past five days have yielded nothing yet. Andama further revealed that they planned to organize funeral prayers for Aliti this Saturday (tomorrow) if the team fails to get the body by the end of today.

“By the end of today, if we fail to get the body, we expect to organize funeral prayers tomorrow and disburse mourners who are gathered here at home. This is the first miraculous incident to happen in our family”, Andama noted.

Aliti is the first person to drown at the site, according to the local residents of Gbulukuatoni Parish.