Drama erupted at Tororo Central Police Station on Tuesday after a family from Morukatipe Sub-county stormed the premises with their daughter—who had earlier been presumed dead and whose burial was already being planned.
Paul Otenge, a resident of Agorom West Village, said the family had identified an unidentified body recovered by police as that of their missing daughter, Rose Akware.
But to their shock, Rose returned home alive just hours before her burial.
“Our daughter had gone missing the previous day. Then we heard that Police had found a female body. When we saw it, the resemblance was striking, and we believed it was her,” Otenge told reporters.
He said the family had reached an agreement with police to keep the body temporarily as they prepared for burial.
Funeral tents had been erected, chairs hired, and food worth Shs600,000 purchased when Rose unexpectedly returned home.
“We were left speechless. The entire village had gathered, thinking we were burying our daughter,” he said.
Upon realising the mix-up, the family immediately rushed back to the police station with Rose to report the error and requested that the body in custody be reclassified as unidentified.
The bizarre incident has sparked confusion and conversation across Tororo, with many locals questioning how the family failed to correctly identify their own daughter—especially since the deceased was still in a relatively recognizable condition.
Tororo Police have renewed their appeal to the public to help identify the actual deceased person.
The body was found near Nyamatunga Bridge in Nyamatunga Village, Kodike Parish, Kaliat Sub-county, Tororo County South.
Paul Ekisa, a resident of the area, discovered the body while mining sand near the bridge. He immediately alerted the local authorities.
“I notified police right after Ekisa reported the incident,” said James Elamo, the village chairperson of Nyamatunga Village.
Police are urging anyone with a missing relative to visit the station and help identify the deceased.
The body remains in the custody of the authorities as investigations continue.