news 21 April 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Masindi Shocker: Man Turns Up Alive Day After His 'Burial'
Godwin Baguma, missing for weeks from Masindi Municipality, was wrongly identified in a decomposed body buried by his family on Sunday. He resurfaced alive the next day in a nearby village, sparking confusion and an exhumation. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/confusion-as-masindi-man-resurfaces-alive-a-day-after-his-burial-ceremony--5430982
Residents of Masindi Municipality were stunned when Godwin Baguma, a Kijura Central Cell resident with a mental health condition, reappeared alive just a day after his family buried a body they believed was his.
Baguma had vanished weeks earlier, worrying his family and neighbors. On Friday, police found a decomposing body in a Kisanja Cell sugarcane plantation and took it to Masindi Hospital mortuary. Announcements sought missing persons’ relatives for identification.
Baguma’s father, Yakobo Kamuturaki, sent his sons to check on Sunday. They confirmed it was their brother despite the poor condition, leading to hasty burial arrangements that day amid spreading news of his death.
Mourners gathered, with final rites planned for Monday. But reports emerged of Baguma spotted in Kihanguzi village, Labongo Sub-county. His sister, Jane Birungi, initially dismissed them but rushed to verify, finding him alive at a friend’s home.
The family brought him back, halting the funeral and exhuming the grave. Neighbors like Janet Asiimwe and Florence Bikorwa called it unprecedented and surreal.
Police, via Albertine North Regional Community Liaison Officer Solomon Mugisa, confirmed the mix-up under case Masindi CRB 017/2026. The body returned to the mortuary for identification. Authorities urge careful identification with medical help, especially for decomposed remains, and proper exhumation procedures including court orders.