Lying on a bed moved into the sitting room, 55-year-old Ephraim Kasujja groans in pain as he gazes at his plastered left hand — severed by a suspected drug addict in a horrifying attack.

His wife, Ms Rehemah Nassuna, a breastfeeding mother, gently tries to convince him to eat some cooked beans, but Mr Kasujja can barely focus. Mr Kasujja, a prominent livestock trader in Kayunga District, was on September 9 attacked while walking to a nearby shop. Until that day, he had been an energetic, healthy man without any disabilities.

The assailant, 22-year-old Joel Kabaale, wielded a machete in the centre of Kangulumira Town. The attack left four people dead, including two adults and two children, and resulted in Kasujja losing part of his left hand. Kabaale was later killed by an angry mob.

“I no longer sleep because of the intense pain. All my dreams have been shattered,” Mr Kasujja says, frustration etched across his face.

“At this age of 55, I had always been careful and healthy, but now I have lost a hand,” he adds.

The fateful evening

Narrating his ordeal from his modest two-roomed home, Mr Kasujja, a polygamous father of 10, recalls the day vividly. Heavy rain fell that evening, and around 7:45pm, he asked his wife to prepare tea. When she discovered there was no sugar, Mr Kasujja set off to a nearby shop. “But before I reached the shop, a voice shouted, ‘Why do you want to kill me?’” he recalls weakly. “In the dark, I wondered who the person was and who wanted to kill him,” he adds. Before Mr Kasujja could make sense of the situation, he was attacked. Kabaale hacked him on the head multiple times. As Mr Kasujja tried to flee, his left hand was severed and fell into a nearby ditch.

Bleeding profusely, he raised an alarm, causing the attacker to run. On the way, Kabaale hacked two other people, killing them instantly. Due to a town-wide power outage, he vanished into the darkness, making it difficult for angry residents who had responded to the commotion to track him immediately.

Covered in blood, Mr Kasujja and the two other victims were rushed to Kangulumira Health Centre IV, where responders feared all were dead. “I don’t know how I reached the health centre. I regained consciousness only in the theatre,” he says. Medical staff confirmed that the two others had died, but Mr Kasujja survived.

Life after the attack

After a brief stay, he was transferred to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital in an ambulance while undergoing a blood transfusion. There, doctors treated his head injuries before operating on his severed hand. After four days, he was discharged — still in pain and struggling to adjust to life with a disability.

Mr Kasujja now requires help even for basic tasks like bathing. “I thank God I am still alive. All four other victims did not survive, but I think God gave me a second chance,” he says.

Despite surviving, he continues to suffer from traumatic hallucinations, seeing the attacker in his dreams. “Although a mob killed my tormentor, the incident is still fresh in my mind. I had no grudge against him,” Kasujja says. As the family’s sole breadwinner, Mr Kasujja worries about providing for his 10 children. “All the capital I had for my business has been spent on treatment. I now rely on handouts from well-wishers. I also worry about paying for my children’s education,” he says. Doctors have informed him that he will likely regain some function in six months, but for now, Kasujja is dependent on others.

The aftermath

The following morning, residents tracked down Kabaale after he attacked two juveniles near the initial scene. The children, aged six and four, were among the victims. Kabaale was killed by the mob, and all bodies, including his, were handed over to families for burial, says Ms Hellen Butoto, the Ssezibwa Regional Police spokesperson. A police source in Kayunga, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributed the incident to drug abuse. Authorities had recently carried out operations in Kangulumira Town to arrest suspected drug addicts, some of whom had already been taken to court.

Mr Wilberforce Kirya, who lived near the attacker, says Kabaale began smoking marijuana in Primary Seven and later dropped out of Uganda Martyrs Secondary School, Kangulumira, after assaulting a teacher. “He slept in a makeshift structure in Kituti Village and associated only with fellow drug users,” Kirya said.

Mr Robert Kiggundu, Kangulumira Town mayor, used the incident to caution youth against drug abuse and alcoholism.

“This is a tragic reminder that substance abuse destroys lives, families, and communities,” he said.