Naalya SS Senior Four Student Found Dead in School Toilet

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1453 EAT on Thursday 9 July 2026

KAMPALA — A Senior Four student at Naalya Senior Secondary School’s Bweyogerere campus has died in what police are investigating as a suspected suicide.

Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said the incident occurred on Wednesday evening, with the student’s body found hanging inside a toilet block in the boys’ section of the school.

“The school administration alerted police immediately, and our team of detectives and Scene of Crime officers from Kira Division Police visited the scene, documented evidence, recorded statements from witnesses, and later conveyed the body to Mulago City Mortuary for a postmortem examination,” Owoyesigyire said.

According to preliminary police findings, the student was last seen entering the toilet block shortly before the body was discovered. Investigators also recovered a handwritten note believed to have been authored by the deceased.

“The note has been secured, and its contents are being examined as part of the ongoing investigation. Police extend their condolences to the family, friends and the entire school community during this difficult time. Investigations are ongoing, and further details will be communicated once available,” Owoyesigyire added.

The incident is the latest in a series of suspected suicides reported in schools and universities across the country in recent years.

Last month, 19-year-old Vanisa Namakoye, a Senior Five student at Mbale Progressive Secondary School and a resident of Bunamwani Lower Cell in Bumutoto Ward, Industrial Division, was found dead at her home. Authorities are yet to release the outcome of investigations into the circumstances surrounding her death.

If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or is in emotional distress, seeking support from trusted family members, friends, a mental health professional, or local emergency services can make a critical difference.

Her death came just days after that of her 16-year-old friend, Catherine Nelima, who was also found dead in a suspected suicide in Bukisukye Lower Cell, Bumutoto Ward.

In March 2026, Juliana Genevieve Mutyaba, a 20-year-old student at Mengo Senior School, died shortly after the release of the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results, in which she had scored 19 points.

During the same month, a student at Kololo Junior School’s Kayunga-Gombe campus was found dead in the boys’ dormitory, prompting the temporary closure of the school as police launched investigations into the incident.

A year earlier, in March 2025, Alvin Ssekandi, a 19-year-old Senior Six student, also died in what family members linked to pressure associated with the UACE examinations.

Education experts and mental health advocates have increasingly raised concerns over the psychological wellbeing of learners, citing examination pressure, high academic expectations and limited access to mental health support services in schools as key factors contributing to emotional distress among students. They are calling for strengthened school counselling programmes, improved access to psychosocial support and more open conversations about mental health in educational institutions.

-Observer

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