A newlywed father has been branded as a hero after sacrificing his life in an attempt to save his young son from drowning.
48-year-old Robert Kaweesi from Birmingham, UK, was vacationing in Pakwach, Uganda, together with his family including his wife and their 12-year-old son.
According to the reports, Robert and his partner tied the knot in early August, whereas the family went on a three-week trip to Africa to stay at Gipir and Labongo Safari Lodge and relax in the view of the River Nile.
On Wednesday evening, at around 6:40 pm, the boy went for a quick swim in the river only to find himself drowning after being overpowered by the current.
When Mr. Kaweesi spotted his son struggling in the water, he immediately jumped in and rushed to the boy’s aid. During his rescue, the father was pulled under the surface of the river. He never reemerged.
Meanwhile, his son was pulled out of the water by another witness. He is expected to recover from his near-death experience.
Following the incident, the rescuers launched a massive search for Kaweesi. Two days later, his body has been recovered from the river.
“The body of Robert Kaweesi has just been recovered by police divers from the River Nile,” the local police said, the Nile Post reported.
“They are in the process of transferring the body to Pakwach health centre IV pending post-mortem. 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.”
Kaweesi’s family has since spoken out in a touching tribute to the “lovely man” who was “willing to do anything for anyone.”
“He was willing to do anything for anybody. He was always smiling. He was a good dad and he loved us all,” daughter Sylivia expressed.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, the grieving daughter also revealed that the children were excited to swim in a pool of water that was part of the River Nile after arriving at the resort. What they didn’t realize, however, was just how deep and dangerous the water was.
“I’m told there were two other people who joined in trying to rescue him. Everybody’s focus was on the child and no one realized that my dad was missing at first,” she added.
“When I got the phone call to say he was missing, I thought it was a joke. But as time went on I realized how serious it was. He was missing for two nights.”
Our thoughts are with Robert’s family and friends during this challenging ordeal.
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