A student of Lubaga Mixed secondary school has been stabbed to death by a friend after failing to clear a Shs2,000 debt.

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Lwegaba Brian, 17-year-old senior three student of the school located in Ben Kiwanuka zone of Lubaga Division was on Sunday November 4, 2018 stabbed and later rushed to Lubaga Hospital where he breathed his last around 4 am on Tuesday morning.
He was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Kyengerere, Bisanje along Masaka-Kyotera road on Thursday, November 8, 2018.

The 20-year-old suspect who is currently under police custody was a great friend to the deceased and attended the same school before dropping out last year when in senior three. The two stayed in the same Nateete neighbourhood.

According to the Lubaga Mixed school headmaster, Dithan Kitatta Matte, it all started sometime back when the suspect sold a pair of shoes to the deceased. Luwaga paid part of the money but was left with a balance of Shs2, 000 to clear.

The suspect came to demand for the balance on Sunday evening but Lwegaba requested him to give him some time to look for the money which he didn’t have at the time.

The suspect left Lwegaba but shortly returned enraged and carrying a sharp knife which he used to stab his friend with such force that some of his intestines were visible.

Three boda boda riders approached the crime scene and one of them took Lwegaba to Lubaga Hospital.

At the burial in Masaka, one family member told mourners that on reaching Lubaga Hospital, the medics refused to touch or treat him until a deposit of Shs500, 000 was paid on spot. He said that by the time the money was found it was too late as Lwegaba was becoming weaker and weaker and his condition deteriorating.

The headmaster of the school said the news of Lwegaba’s death was received with shock by both students and teachers on Tuesday morning.
“Many students fell unconscious and filled three rooms where immediate first aid was administered to them. Lwegaba was such a loved student, so bright in class and was the sports prefect who was a talented footballer and would always be number one in athletics," he disclosed.

The head of school described the deceased as a student who was always calm and so apologetic whenever he wronged anyone.
"We are going to take some time to erase this shock and it is going to be a difficult moment especially for his classmates with whom he has been sharing basics."

On the day of the burial, the school closed with about fifty students selected to represent others to go to Masaka and bid farewell to their fallen comrade.
Chaos however broke out as a number of students fought to enter the already filled-to-capacity school bus also demanding not to be left out.

Annet Nakanwagi, a classmate to the deceased recalls that shortly before his death Lwegaba had jokingly told a group of classmates that when time comes for him to die they should all attend his burial without fail.
"The last time we visited him at Lubaga Hospital he could still talk though appeared weak. He said he had forgiven his friend whom he didn’t want to be jailed. He said he had instructed his family to immediately pay him back the Shs 2,000 shillings he owed him,” Nakanwagi said.

To Patrick Muchaka, the school security guard, it is hard to believe that Lwegaba was killed by one of his best friends.
"Until last year when the suspect was still a student here, the two were great friends who always moved together and formed part of the formidable school football team. The suspect was a goalkeeper and Lwegaba, a striker.”

A police CID officer at Nateete police station confirmed having the suspect and said he will be facing murder charges as soon as possible.

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