The inhabitants of Mpondwe, in the far west of Uganda, are gradually recovering from the attack on a secondary school that occurred on the night of June 16th to 17th, 2023, which claimed the lives of 43 people, most of whom were young students.
More than a week after the attack, it is still a shock in this border town which had not experienced such events for more than 20 years. And on the spot, the damage of the attack is still clearly visible in the establishment. From the street of the Lhubirira school, attacked by presumed members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on June 16th, a few passers-by continue to come and observe, the roofs destroyed and the facade of the dormitories burned.
Only 25 bodies have been identified
In the case of those families who have lost their children, it is difficult to grieve, particularly if they have not yet been able to bury their loved one, of the 43 dead, only 25 bodies have been identified, with the remainder being too damaged for identification.
A father, whose 17-year-old son disappeared, confided on June 26th that he is still waiting for the results of DNA tests, to find out if his child is one of the deceased, or if he has been kidnapped, like other kidnapped students. by the rebel group. They were taken across the border.
With reinforced security measures, especially for crossings to and from Kasindi, the neighboring town in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), life is gradually resuming its course. In one of the other secondary schools in the village, 800 meters from the one attacked by the rebels, students are now returning to classrooms. Of the more than 200 teenagers in this school’s boarding school, around fifty have returned to the dormitories, and the vast majority are to spend their first night there this evening. But many say they are still worried, despite the soldiers now deployed at night in schools.