Gombe Secondary School Mourns as August 2026 Claims Three Old Boys

By Meddy Walusimbi Omuyiribi/ Friday, 21st August 2026

KAMPALA, Uganda — August 2026 has been a month of grief for Gombe Secondary School. In less than three weeks, the community lost three of its own young men whose lives were cut short, leaving behind families, classmates, and memories that will not fade.

The dark cloud first fell on the night of Sunday, 2nd August 2026, with the sudden death of Kiyimba Tom at Forest Gardens Kasangati. Tom collapsed and sustained fatal head injuries after falling to the floor. According to family, details remain unclear, with only a few clips from CCTV footage shedding light on his final moments. He breathed his last not far from home, leaving behind a wife who is five months pregnant.

The news struck like thunder. For many who sat with him in the “Nago Class” at Gombe Secondary School from 2005 to 2010, it was impossible to believe. The first message came early Monday morning from Tonny, Tom’s elder brother: “Tom is dead.”

I froze. I read it a hundred times, hoping it would disappear. When I called his close friend Festo, a former classmate too, the words were confirmed. Tom was gone.

For hours, phones kept ringing. Classmates called, shocked and searching for answers. I switched mine off, trying to make sense of a loss that made no sense. Later, I gathered the courage to tell our old classmates’ group. I attached his photos and wrote what we all felt: Tom was really gone.

Tom was the kind of man you couldn’t miss. From school days he carried a smile that never left him. A passionate Manchester United fan, he wore his jersey with pride and spread joy wherever he went. It was hard to tell when he was sad, because his face always chose light.

After Gombe, he studied Public Health at Clarke International University and later built a life supplying agro chemicals. He remained close to friends, always present at social gatherings, always the jolly one in the room.

That evening, we gathered at his mother’s home in Mpala, Entebbe Road, for vigil. The pain in the compound was heavy. There were no words big enough. The following day, Tuesday, 4th August, we laid him to rest at Kafumu Kinoni, off the Masaka-Mbarara road.

It was all so sudden. The school was not even informed in time. But Gombe was represented. Among those who stood with us at the burial was Mr. Twenyumize Kenneth, Assistant RDC Butambala and a former classmate, who came to honor one of his own.

Less than a week later, grief struck again. News of the death of Walugembe Abdul, a businessman and an Old Boy from the Masanyu Form 6 Class of 2009, caught everyone by surprise. Not much is known about the circumstances of his death. The news was sudden and shocking, and not many managed to attend his funeral and burial.

It was so sad losing a young soul. It taught me that we should really learn to check on our fellows. A phone call, just to say “hi”, really means a lot. So many people are going through a lot and we hardly know.

Before we could heal from those fresh wounds, Hajji Fayizo Luyinda Ttaka passed on 19th August 2026. An engineer in construction and real estate development managing different projects, he was also a prominent Old Boy and former Taata Bay — Mess Prefect at Gombe.

He was such a fierce figure during his tenure that he could stand still, without even saying a word, and everyone would line up in position during lunch or supper at the dining hall. It is so sad losing him at a time when the country needed his services more.

Our prayers and condolences go to Gombe Secondary School. Truly, August of 2026 has not been easy.

May the souls of Kiyimba Tom, Walugembe Abdul, and Hajji Fayizo Luyinda Ttaka rest in eternal peace.