It is, and remains, a national tragedy that demands we stop, reflect, and fundamentally reconsider what we call “success.” A very young person, scoring 19 out of 20 points in the 2025 Uganda Advanced Certicate of Education, took their own life. By any objective measure, that performance is exceptional—a mark that should open doors to top universities, not be seen as failure.
Yet reports from Mengo Secondary School, and unfortunately similar past cases elsewhere, reveal how peer pressure, online trolling, and intense home expectations distort young people’s perception of achievement.
This heartbreak is not isolated; it is symptomatic. Police continue to investigate the March 2026 case, but patterns are clear: psychologists and educators repeatedly cite academic stress as a leading factor in youth distress in Uganda.
So why would a brilliant young mind not see 19 points as something to celebrate? How did our education system produce a child who views near-perfect performance as insufficient? Are schools and parents fostering a distorted, unrealistic definition of success, where only 20 points matter?
Part of the answer lies in the world young people inhabit online. Social media, global sports coverage, and entertainment content constantly frame success as “first place or nothing.”
When a football team finishes second and its manager is publicly mocked or sacked, young fans internalize that second place is failure. In such a world, scoring 19 when 20 is possible begins to feel like defeat. Filters, curated posts, and the relentless search for perfection amplify the message: anything short of flawless is inadequate.
Research globally—and emerging evidence locally—shows that this environment of upward social comparison drives perfectionism, anxiety, and distorted self-worth, particularly among adolescents already under academic pressure.
In Uganda, where studies suggest nearly one in three school-going adolescents experience suicidal thoughts, the collision of social media pressures with high-stakes exams and limited economic pathways is combustible.
This young life lost need not be in vain if it prompts a vital question: Are we raising resilient humans capable of weathering life’s inevitable disappointments, or are we producing machines optimized for a single scoreboard?
Success is not defined by 20 points. It is waking up with purpose, building relationships, contributing to society, and having the tools to handle imperfection. We celebrate athletes who win without breaking records, or people who succeed in life without perfection. The act of trying, of showing up, is itself a triumph.
Uganda’s youth are our greatest asset: brilliant, energetic, and numerous. We owe them a vision of success wide enough for all to fit within it, without breaking under impossible standards. The conversation starts now—at home, in schools, and across social media. Let us make 19 points, and every honest effort, something to celebrate. Lives depend on it.
For God and my country.