By Bill Dan Arnold Borodi
In one tragic week, Uganda Christian University (UCU) lost three promising young women to separate road accidents. The deceased include Laurine Murungi and Britney Sarah Treasure who perished in an accident along Bweyogerere. Eye witnesses say a taxi that was trying to overtake lost control and knocked a boda which the two girls were on. Both the girls and the boda rider perished. A third student, Maria Angella Namirembe, was involved in an accident near Angels Nest Primary School and later passed on due to the injuries she sustained.
We remember the three young women whose dreams, goals and futures were cut short, leaving behind grief and sorrow.
Laurine Murungi – A happy soul who loved people
For those who knew Laurine Murungi, a second-year law student, the places she was in were hardly ever silent. They often carried her laughter. She was known for her radiant energy, kindness, and gift of expression.
Lisa Amutuhaire, a cousin to Murungi who also studies law at Uganda Christian University (UCU), describes her as a person whose life revolved around loving people.
“She loved reading and writing poems, that’s how she expressed herself,” Amutuhaire recalls, adding that Murungi also dreamt of one day publishing them. “She was a lovely person. Even when she had misunderstandings with someone, you’d find she wasn’t the one in the wrong. She loved people genuinely, whether they were strangers or close friends.”
Born on July 5, 2003 in Ntungamo District, Murungi was the firstborn among six children. Her education began at Ainembabazi Preparatory School before she moved on to Lypa Primary School, then Nabisunsa Girls’ School, Budo SS and finally UCU, where she was building her dream of becoming a lawyer and advocate for others.
Bradley Tendo, a first-year nursing student, described Murungi’s warmth as unmistakable. “She would meet you with a smile. Even if you were having a bad day, she’d make you smile.”
Murungi was the kind of person who made others feel seen. “She put people’s problems before her own,” Amutuhaire added. “She was a counselor to many and had a habit of buying people small gifts or taking them out without you asking.”
Her childhood friend Daniella Kimuri, a civil engineering student, echoed the same sentiments saying Murungi’s friendship gave her strength during hard times.
“During the lockdown, I was struggling with a lot at home in Mbarara,” Kimuri said, fighting back tears. “Murungi would come to visit me. She gave me hope and reminded me I was loved.”
According to Kimuri, “Murungi was the kind of person who made every place feel alive. She was vibrant and full of energy. If she saw you passing by on a boda, she’d scream your name.”
Tendo remembers the last time he saw her.
“A week before her death, I was heading to Kampala from Tech Park on a boda when she spotted me, she jumped, waved, shouted my name, that’s my last image of her. We had planned to meet that weekend.” That, sadly, never happened.
Britney Sarah Treasure – The brilliant student with a love for family
When Britney Sarah Treasure walked into a room, you noticed her sharp sense of fashion.
A first-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Analytics, her sudden passing has left friends and classmates mourning a young woman whose name suited her well, a treasure in many ways.
According to Joshua Akram Kabunga, a close friend and classmate, their friendship began almost by accident.
“We became friends last semester in the third week,” he recalls. “She approached our table in the dining hall, she had come to set me up with one of her friends. From there, we became inseparable.”
Kabunga remembers Britney as “bold and apologetic when she decided to do anything”. She was kind, generous, and had an infectious sense of humour.
“She had a great sense of fashion too,” he said with a faint smile. “We used to exchange pictures on Locket [a photo sharing application], that was our small way of staying connected.”
Britney attended Uganda Martyrs Secondary School, Namugongo and Seeta High School. She pursued History, Economics, Literature, and Sub-Math at A-Level. She joined UCU to study Data Science and Analytics, a field in which she quickly excelled.
“We were all shocked by how good she was at it,” Kabunga said. “She was brilliant, and if you had her in your class group, she was never a problem.”
Esther Atoo, a student of the Higher Education Certificate (HEC), remembers Britney as a creative soul.
“She loved to write, especially poetry,” Atoo said. “She was also very smart. If you sat down with her for a conversation, you’d realize she had so much depth.”
As the firstborn in a family of three, Britney was close to her family. “She really loved her siblings,” Kabunga said. “The week before she passed, she had attended her sister’s visiting day at Seroma High School and sent me pictures of her report card.”
During her funeral, Britney’s mother described her as a visionary, fascinated by innovation and technology.
“She loved technology and wanted to be like Elon Musk,” her mother said tearfully, mourning a promising life that was extinguished too soon.
Maria Angella Namirembe – A bold voice
When those who knew her speak of Maria Angella Namirembe, their voices carry both admiration and grief. a reflection of the deep mark she left behind in just 27 years of life.
Tamale Nkyoyoyo, a law student at UCU and one of her close friends and colleagues, remembers her as a vibrant and devoted young woman whose influence reached far beyond her age.
“It gets hard to talk about her, Angella was an all-round person,” Nkyoyoyo said. “She was active in church, served on the Buganda Kingdom Youth Council, and worked with charity organisations.”
Nkyoyoyo first met Namirembe in 2018 under a committee led by Hon. Betty Nambooze, the Member of Parliament for Mukono Municipality when she was shadow minister of Internal Affairs, which was investigating the plight of Ugandan women dying in Arab countries.
“That’s when I met Angella”, he recalls. “She inspired many of us because she always raised her voice for what she believed was right.”
By 2020, Namirembe had risen through the ranks of youth leadership. As the Buganda People Power Youth Leader, she appointed Nkyoyoyo to serve in Mukono as the movement’s representative. Together, they travelled across communities, mentoring and mobilising young people.
“Later, she joined law school because she believed that education was the best way to strengthen her voice as an activist,” Nkyoyoyo added. “She was always a voice for the girl child. Angella left a mark, especially for the girl child to learn from.”
Those who worked with her in politics remember the same passion. Pius Jadwar, who served alongside her in the early days of the People Power Movement, described her on X as a committed and fearless comrade whose conviction inspired many.
“I first met Comrade Namirembe in 2018 at our first revolutionary base in Kamwokya, what is now the NUP School of Leadership. At that time, the movement was still in its infancy. Despite her young age, Angella stood out as a committed and passionate comrade who deeply loved her country. We shared the same dream for a free and just Uganda. She dedicated her youthful energy to awakening and mobilising fellow youth, serving diligently as a youth leader, a role she carried out with excellence and purpose.”
Namirembe’s academic journey began at Global Junior School, Mukono, after which she joined Namiryango High School for her secondary education. She later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Kyambogo University (2016–2019) where she served as Secretary General of the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) between 2017 and 2018. Her passion for justice led her to the Law Development Centre (LDC) for a Diploma in Law and later, she enrolled at UCU to pursue a Bachelor of Laws, a degree she was still undertaking at the time of her passing, and served as a Justice on the Guild Tribunal of UCU Kampala.
At just 27, Namirembe had already become a symbol of courage, purpose, and compassion but that fierce and bold voice was painfully silenced when she died after being involved in a road crash.
