Africa-Press – Uganda. When the long awaited Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) were released on Friday, Elvis Rwothomio, 13, was joined by family members, pupils and teachers to celebrate his success after emerging as the best in Pakwach District.
The teachers and parents were in ululations over the success of their son who excelled amidst the hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic that saw schools closed for almost a year. But the determined Rwothomio, who had been excelling in the former classes made it.
Rwothomio, a former pupil at Pajobi Primary School scored six aggregates in the just released PLE results. The celebrations were, however, cut shot on Saturday evening when he was declared dead after suffering from a short illness. Rwothomio comes from Kakawoi A Village in Pakwach Town Council.
Some of the family members said at the time the results were released, Rwothomio had been bed ridden for a week.
Ms Juliet Aciro the deceased’s mother says her son stepped on some strange fetishes in front of their house while removing a motorcycle.
Aciro says her son then started complaining of pain in the leg and swelling in the stomach.
Rwothomio was raised by his mother single handedly following the death of his father when he was still a toddler.
“It is sad that Elvis died after long struggle with him. We tried treating him with the herbalists in Panyigoro and Pacego but all in vain. The condition worsened on Saturday and we lost him,” she said.
“He was our hope as a family and we have all along struggled hard to pay his school fees, provide everything because he was a bright boy. God why? Ohh my son…” a sobbing Aciro said.
According to his teachers who delivered the good news to him after the release of the results, the bed ridden Rwothomio was full of smiles and joy as he hugged them amidst the pain he was undergoing.
The deputy head teacher of the school, Mr Patrick Ayima, described the late Rwothomio was a hardworking and disciplined pupil in whom they had great hopes in.
“It is unfortunate that we cannot celebrate the great performance of Rwothomio whom we have lost. This is a big loss to the entire school and the family that had high hopes in him,” he said.
“We shared the result with him on Friday afternoon and he was so happy as his condition seemed better. It is so shocking that he died before achieving his dreams. His death has depressed the pupils and teachers,” he added.
Caesar Yikparwoth, a close friend of the deceased, who also obtained six aggregates said: “I can’t believe my friend whom I was competing with in academics is gone. I am puzzled.”
The District Inspector of School, Mr Maxwell Atiya, asked parents and guardians to desist from trusting herbalists and instead deal with qualified medical doctors.
“We are saddened by the circumstance surrounding the death of our district best PLE pupil. Whenever such sicknesses arise, let that person be treated in designated health centers so that the cause of the death can be traced and solution offered timely,” he said.
No postmortem was done to establish the exact cause of Rwothomio’s death.
