Man, 48, Dies after Jumping into River to Save 12-year-old Son During Family Holiday in Uganda

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A heroic British newlywed has been killed after rushing into the River Nile in an attempt save his 12-year-old son during a safari lodge holiday.

Robert Kaweesi, a 48-year-old father-of-five from Birmingham, dived into the River Nile after his son went swimming at around 6.40pm on Wednesday. 

The family were reportedly staying at Gipir and Labongo Safari Lodge on the banks of the river in the northern Ugandan town of Pakwach during a three-week visit.

It was understood the couple’s son went swimming in the river at around 6.40pm on Wednesday, but was quickly ‘overpowered’ by the force of the African river.

Seeing his son in trouble, the father jumped in to help. However, he disappeared beneath the water during the rescue effort, and never came back to the surface.

The boy was rescued by a bystander but Mr Kaweesi was missing. After a two-day search – said to have involved submarines, police and fisherman – his family in Stirchley received confirmation on Friday morning that a body had been found.

“The body of Robert Kaweesi has just been recovered by police divers from the River Nile,” Josephine Angucia, the local police spokesperson, told the Nile Post.

“They are in the process of transferring the body to Pakwach health centre IV pending post-mortem,” she added. The police said, “When they went swimming in the river, the son was overpowered by the waves. The deceased wanted to rescue his son but instead drowned and his son was saved.”