news 3 September 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Three Years On, Parents Still Seek Answers on Children Missing After Kasese School Attack
Families of students who disappeared during the 2023 ADF attack on Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School are urging the government for updates on their missing children, three years after the tragic incident. The uncertainty over whether their children are alive or dead continues to cause immense emotional distress. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/3-years-later-families-yet-to-get-answers-on-missing-children--5582098
Three years have passed since the devastating Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attack on Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School in Kasese District, yet parents of the children who vanished during the massacre are still desperately seeking answers from the government. The prolonged uncertainty has left families in a state of agonizing limbo, unsure if their loved ones are dead or abducted, potentially taken across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Last week, during the unveiling of a monument to commemorate the 42 lives lost in the June 16, 2023 attack, parents renewed their pleas to security agencies. They are demanding an account of what has been discovered about the abducted children and details on any ongoing operations to locate them.
The attack saw ADF rebels set a dormitory ablaze and brutally kill and injure students before retreating towards the DRC. While 38 students perished, several others were reported abducted. The school, once a place of learning, now stands largely deserted, a grim reminder of the violence.
Mary Masika, whose 18-year-old son Simon Bwambale Kitiri was a student at the time, presented a photograph of her missing son at the commemoration, appealing directly to military commanders. She recalled initial promises from authorities that updates would be provided within months, but these assurances have not materialized, leaving families to rely on rumors about military operations in the DRC.
Another mother, Enas Mayani, shared her frustration after providing DNA samples multiple times to help identify unidentified remains, yet receiving no official word on her daughter’s fate. The lack of communication has exacerbated the emotional toll on families caught between fading hope and profound grief.
Survivors recall the terrifying moments of the attack, hearing different languages spoken by the assailants and the subsequent chaos. The unresolved disappearances cast a long shadow over the community, underscoring the ongoing trauma and the urgent need for closure.