The Day I Almost Died

 By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug

There are two occasions I vividly remember on which I almost died, but God graciously saved my life. Those moments remind me the words of scripture in Psalm 34:19-20, where the Bible says that, “Good people suffer many troubles, but the Lord saves them from them all; the Lord preserves them completely; not one of their bones is broken.”

The first time was on Friday, 2^nd January, 2015. I was jogging on the northern bypass, in Bukoto, Kampala, soon after that fly-over that goes to Kisaasi, for those of you who know the place. I was heading towards Kyebando-Kisalosalo. It was at about 6:30 AM, when suddenly a fast speeding car emerged from in front of me and almost knocked me dead. All I remember is that before that happening, I had looked ahead of me while running and seemed to see a car parked at a distance, white in colour that resembled what we, in Uganda, call “my car”. Usually these are Toyota Coronas, Corollas and the like. I was facing down while running then suddenly heard the sound of a fast moving object and felt a gush of wind blow in my face. I stopped suddenly and by reflex, moved aback, as though I were playing kwepena, for those of you who know that game that is usually played by young girls, using a tiny ball. That reflex move backwards saved my life because the tip of the car’s mirror touched my jogging T-shirt, as the car sped off and got stuck in the surrounding swamp.

People gathered at the scene, sympathized with me for surviving death, as we helped the driver get out of the car whose door was apparently failing to open. Among those people was a tall, fat (or more courteously, well fed) and a bit dark skinned woman, wearing a charcoal grey skirt and a blouse whose colour I don’t quite remember. She was standing on the edge of the road, with her arms folded on her chest. As for me, I was slightly down in the swamp, trying to help the driver get out of his stuck car. Therefore, I stood below her in terms of gradient. She seemed detached from and unbothered by what was going on; and indeed none of the other people around seemed to notice her presence. I remember she said to me, in Luganda, that, “Olaba Katonda nga bwakwagala? Yongela okumuweleza.” In English it means: “Do you see how God loves you? Keep serving Him.” I gazed at her, speechless, in some kind of mixed amazement and disbelief, as she also looked at me. I was overwhelmed by wonder and didn’t say anything.

Then, the man in the car coughed and I turned for about four seconds to look at him. I saw that there were people helping him, trying to open the car door. So I turned again to see and talk to the woman who spoke to me. But she was nowhere to be seen. I run up to the road to see if she was probably walking away, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. I checked in every direction, but nothing. I asked the people there whether they saw where the fat woman that was standing there went, but they all asked me which woman I was talking about. Nobody knew. I was hurt and disappointed because I really wanted to talk to her and ask her what she meant exactly and how I can continue serving God. Then it occurred to me that this woman could have been an angel sent to me, because there was no way she could have got lost completely in just about four seconds of me looking away. Moreover nobody else among the people around had seen her. Only I had seen her. To this day, I feel and think there was something supernatural about her. Anyway, that was the first time I came so close to death, but survived by a whisker. God saved me from death.

The second time I almost died was on Saturday, 4^th March, 2023. I was attacked and clobbered in my bed by my cousin brother, Turyatemba Samson, with whom I stayed. The attack happened in the morning, between about 04:45 AM and 05:00 AM. He hit me all over my body with a hard, blunt object (which I suspect was a hammer), as he cut me all over with a sharp knife. Only God saved me from death or at least grave and permanent disability. As usual, God acts either through people or circumstances. In this case He saved me through circumstances because, one, I have a thick blanket which absorbed the hits and, two, electricity was off such that Samson couldn’t see me since it was dark. Otherwise, had power been on, he would have switched on the bulb, identified and spotted my sleeping position very well and then struck me to death instantly.

A photo of Turyatemba Samson, my near-murderer.

I had started staying with Samson just one week earlier, on Saturday, 25^th February, 2023. His father and mine are brothers; and so we have grown up knowing each other and occasionally interacting. We have no history whatsoever of personal differences, grudges or quarrels. Even in the one week we had stayed together, we had no outstanding disputes warranting him to kill me – of all things. As you can imagine, therefore, he was the last person I expected to want me dead.

In blood stained clothes in the early morning of the attack, soon after being stitched in the clinic.

For a long time, I had heard our relatives complain that Samson (a graduate of computer science from Mbarara University of Science and Technology) is mad, although for his part, his father doubted that, insisting that he is not mad and is just pretending to be so. I had never got an opportunity to see Samson until that moment of us living together. My assessment of him, as at that time, is that he is not mad, but perhaps depressed and in need of counseling. My assessment is based on the fact that I could clearly see that Samson understood well what he was doing. For instance, the knife he used to attack me was the sharpest of all three knives we had in the house (one being a fruit knife and the other two being ordinary peeling/cooking knives). Then, I say that Samson was depressed judging from his behavior which generally resembled that of my roommate at university who was fond of constantly quarreling with me over minor and really straightforward things. Our friends in neighbouring rooms used to wonder why we were always quarreling. Myself I never understood why because to me, the things he fussed and grumbled over seemed obviously wrong and hence unacceptable. It was until one year later, after I had left Makerere University and gone to Law Development Centre for postgraduate bar course studies that he really fell sick, was admitted to University Hospital and diagnosed with depression. He ended up getting a dead year as he underwent treatment. It was then that I came to know that depression is a truly dangerous disease or condition. What is unusual or abnormal to you, a normal person, is perfectly OK for a person laboring under depression. It is like he or she is upside down, seeing and doing things the opposite way. Please, beware mental disorders.

Some of the wounds I sustained during the attack. I almost lost my right eye. It is miraculous that it survived. Samson cut my cheek and eye lashes because he was targetting my throat since I was  screaming and shouting for help. He was aiming for where the sound was coming from.

Anyway, long story short: when Samson ferociously attacked me in my peaceful sleep on that fateful morning of Saturday, 4^th March, 2023, I screamed, making alarm, calling for help which attracted neighbours and local council officials. When they started banging on the door, Samson opened it, run out with the knife and hammer, and has never been heard of or found to this day. At least no one has ever told me that he or she knows where he (Samson) is. I think he fears arrest. The responders took me to a nearby clinic where my profusely bleeding wounds were stitched and was treated. I thank and glorify God for saving my life – yet again – on that day. It will forever be a historic moment of my life. God covered me in His boundless grace and mercy.

Knife cut on my left arm. This wound was sustained while I tried to guard myself against Samson’s hammer and knife hits.

 

Knife cuts on my lower right arm. These wounds were also sustained while defending myself. For me, the scars of the injuries sustained are a constant reminder of God’s goodness to me.

Knife cut on my left thigh.

Wound on the back side of my right shoulder. This was the first spot that Samson hit with his hammer, thereby waking me from my sleep. He hit it so hard and repeatedly that it was as if he was hitting a snake. By targetting this body part, he was aiming to hit the back of my head and thereby kill me instantly.

Wound sustained on my left leg. The injuries sustained on my legs are not pronounced because the impacts of the hammer were absorbed by my thick blanket. It is a miracle that my femur bones were not broken and shattered, rendering me permanently crippled.

Wherever Samson is hiding, he is right to fear being arrested because I reported a criminal case to Uganda Police Force and he is now a wanted person. Here is my reference issued by police at Nakulabye Police Station in Kampala. Please arrest him on sight and hand him over to the nearest police or other authority. 

And so, dear reader, after these two near-death incidents, for me every moment above the ground is a blessing. I believe God saved me for a purpose and so I live aspiring to know, understand and fulfil it. So help me God. Like the young would-be prophet Samuel, I say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening”.