A burial ceremony in Jagala, Gombe Division, Nansana Municipality turned chaotic when mourners exhumed the body of David Ssebunya Rahumati, widely known as Kapipa, after his children reportedly collapsed shortly after he was laid to rest.
The incident sparked panic and accusations of ritual practices, leading to an overnight standoff at the homestead.
Ssebunya, a well-known land rights activist who had defended residents entangled in land disputes with businessman Isaac Mulindwa, alias Macknawa, died in an accident on Tuesday while inspecting his plot of land in Jagala.
Many mourners insisted the accident was suspicious.
“This wasn’t an ordinary accident. He had been threatened before, and he even recorded audio of people warning him about the Jagala land matters,” one mourner said.
Hundreds of mourners, including boda boda riders and close friends, escorted the body for nearly five miles to the contested land where Ssebunya had spent years advocating for residents. Rev. Nathan Mugalu, who led the prayers, described the death as deeply painful.
“I knew him like a son. It is painful to lose him this way,” Rev. Mugalu said, urging mourners to be spiritually prepared because “people are dying in strange and suspicious ways.”
After prayers, the burial proceeded normally until the grave was covered. Chaos erupted when Ssebunya’s children suddenly collapsed, prompting a wave of fear among relatives. Some mourners claimed the deceased’s spirit had “taken hold of them.”
Family members quickly removed the concrete slabs and mesh wire and re-opened the grave. “There is medicine that was buried with him. His spirit is not resting,” a relative insisted as the crowd dug frantically.
The coffin was lifted out and opened, with the body laid beside the grave. The empty coffin was placed in a nearby banana plantation as mourners gathered—some praying, others accusing unknown individuals of ritual interference.
Inside the grave, mourners retrieved a small object wrapped in a polythene bag, which they described as “the medicine” allegedly buried with the deceased.
Police officers from Gombe Police Station soon arrived to restore order after confrontations broke out, with mourners accusing a man identified as Joel Ssebanyiga of having a hand in Ssebunya’s death.
“We are working to restore order and investigate both the death and the events at the burial,” a police officer at the scene said.
By 2:00 a.m., the body had not been reburied. Police and UPDF officers guarded the homestead as residents debated whether further rituals were needed before the burial could continue.