Today in History: Lt Col Jet Mwebaze Confirmed Dead After Rwenzori Plane Crash

What the report says

Nile Post reports on the 1998 death of Lieutenant Colonel Jet Mwebaze, an officer in the National Resistance Army and a veteran of the Luweero bush war. According to the article, he was among passengers on a Kenyan-registered Britten-Norman Islander that left Entebbe International Airport on September 25, 1998, with a filed destination of Kasese. The flight was later diverted toward Bunia and Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo before crashing on Karubura Peak in the Rwenzori area of what is now Kabarole District.

The report says the aircraft hit difficult weather and mountain waves at low altitude. Pilot Enoth Luwunzu died in the crash, while other passengers survived with serious injuries. Mwebaze lived through the initial impact but was badly weakened by fractured ribs. As the group tried to move through the mountains and alert rescuers, he reportedly stayed behind near a stream while the others continued.

The search for the missing plane was hampered by terrain, weather and security concerns. Rescue teams and local hunters later found the wreckage, and Mwebaze’s body was discovered on October 3 along the banks of River Nyamwamba. The article says he died from exposure, severe cold and exhaustion after being stranded in the mountains.

The piece adds that Mwebaze was the younger brother of former army commander James Kazini and the father of lawyer John Jet Mwebaze. It notes that he was buried with full military honours at Kapeeka Heroes Cemetery, becoming the first person laid to rest there.