EASTERN PROVINCE

GATSIBO — A senior four student of Umutara polytechnic, Gakoni in kiramurunzi, drowned on Lake Muhazi last Friday morning.

Jean de Dieu Nizeyimana, a new student, reportedly died at 6 00 am.

On the fateful morning, the deceased who had allegedly spent one night at school, in the company of other students, went to the Lake to fetch water, but ‘instead he dived into the water and drowned.’

"We don’t know whether he knew how to swim, because he was a new student and most of us didn’t know him. He just dived into the water and drowned," one of the students who was with the deceased said.

However, the director of the school, Peter Claver Kabanda, said on Wednesday, that Nizeyimana was yet to get admission. He had reportedly visited the school late in the evening looking for a vacancy, but spent a night there.

"I had to help in retrieving the body from the water and transport it to their home because it happened at my school, but he was not our student," Kabanda said.

The school administrators later informed the police and the local authorities about the incident.

The school deputy, Faustin Nkundimana, said the school has lately been hit by water scarcity, and the students are forced to seek water from the lake every morning and after classes.

"We have made a duty roster for teachers to escort the students to the lake and ensure that they come back safely," Nkundimana said.

Ends