The somber news of the tragic death of Lawrence Ospene, a 21-year-old student at Makerere University Business School (MUBS), has cast a pall of sorrow over the community. Ospene, who had been missing for more than two weeks, was discovered deceased in the city mortuary.
The deceased was the son of Dr. Felix Ocom, the Deputy Director of the Mulago Institute of Public Health. His untimely demise comes as a devastating blow to his family, friends, and academic community.
According to reports, Ospene lost his life in a fatal road accident in Nakawa on April 20, 2024. The circumstances surrounding the accident were revealed through widely circulated messages on social media platforms, including WhatsApp.
“We lost him. The camera footage at Nakawa lights showed he was knocked down by a trailer,” read one of the messages, reflecting the shock and grief of those close to him.
The news of Ospene’s tragic passing has prompted an outpouring of condolences and tributes from those who knew him, mourning the loss of a promising young individual with a bright future ahead.
Plans for Ospene’s final farewell have been set, with arrangements for his burial scheduled to take place at his ancestral home in Bukedea District on May 9, 2024.
Ospene’s untimely death sheds light on the concerning trend of road accidents in Uganda, with an alarming average of 12 to 13 fatalities reported daily. Road crashes remain the leading cause of death among young people aged 5-29 in the country.
The Traffic Police recently released grim statistics indicating that in 2023 alone, 4,806 Ugandans lost their lives in road accidents, marking a distressing increase from the previous year’s toll of 4,534 fatalities.
