MASANDI. Residents of Masindi Municipality are yet to come to terms with a bizarre incident where a man who had been announced dead resurfaced alive, just hours after a body believed to be his had been buried.
Godwin Baguma, a resident of Kijura Central Cell in Central Division, had reportedly gone missing for weeks, causing anxiety among family members and neighbours.
According to the family, Baguma, who is said to have a mental health condition, disappeared without informing anyone, prompting a frantic search.
The situation took a tragic turn over the weekend when the family received information that police had recovered a decomposing body from a sugarcane plantation in Kisanja Cell on Friday.
The body was taken to Masindi Hospital mortuary, where announcements were made for people with missing persons to help with identification.
Baguma’s father, Mr Yakobo Kamuturaki, said after receiving information on Sunday, he sent his sons to the mortuary to verify whether the body belonged to his missing son. After viewing the remains, they returned and confirmed it was Baguma.
“We were told the body was in a bad state. My sons went and identified it as their brother. We believed them and accepted that he was dead,” Kamuturaki said.
Following this confirmation, the family quickly organized burial arrangements due to the advanced state of decomposition. News of Baguma’s alleged death spread rapidly throughout Kijura Central Cell and neighboring areas, drawing mourners to the home.
The burial was conducted on Sunday, with the family planning to hold final funeral rites the following day [Monday].
However, what began as a solemn mourning ceremony quickly turned into disbelief and confusion.
While preparations for the final rites were underway on Monday, reports began circulating that Baguma had been spotted alive in Kihanguzi village in Labongo Sub-county, Masindi District.
“At first, we dismissed it as rumours. We had already buried the body. But we decided to go and confirm.” Baguma’s sister, Ms Jane Birungi said.
She said family members rushed to the area, only to find Baguma alive. It is reported that he had spent the night at a friend’s home.
“When we saw him, we were shocked. We could not believe it was him standing there alive,” Birungi said.
Baguma was immediately brought back home, bringing the ongoing funeral ceremony to an abrupt halt.
The discovery forced the family into the difficult process of exhuming the body that had already been buried. The remains, initially believed to be Baguma’s, are now suspected to belong to an unidentified individual.
“We had already mourned and even buried the body. Then suddenly, the person we thought was dead returns alive. This is something we have never witnessed before,” Ms Janet Asiimwe, a neighbor said.
Another resident, Ms Florence Bikorwa, described the incident as strange which he has never seen in his entire life.
“It felt like a movie. People were confused and scared. No one could understand what was happening,” she said.
Police have since confirmed the incident and launched investigations to establish the identity of the body that was mistakenly buried.
Mr Solomon Mugisa, the Albertine North Regional Community Liaison Officer and acting police spokesperson, said the body had been recovered last Friday and taken to the mortuary.
“A family came and identified the body as their relative and began burial arrangements. Later, they discovered their relative was alive, which caused confusion,” Mugisa said.
He added that the family has since withdrawn their initial identification, leading to the exhumation of the body and its return to the mortuary at Masindi Hospital.
The case has been registered under reference number Masindi CRB 017/2026.
Police have urged the public to exercise caution when identifying bodies, particularly those in advanced states of decomposition.
“In such situations, identification must be done carefully, and families should work closely with medical personnel to avoid such mistakes,” Mugisa advised.
He also emphasized that proper legal procedures must be followed during exhumations, including obtaining a court order, recommendations from local authorities, and police involvement.