Ugandan boxer Alex Kanaabi, a bronze medalist at the Africa Zone 3 Championships and reigning Uganda Boxing Champions League light middleweight champion, has died after allegedly ingesting poison.
Kanaabi passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning, just days after his final professional bout on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025, where he defeated Depark Mawanda to clinch the national light middleweight title.
News of Kanaabi’s deteriorating health began circulating on Wednesday, January 7, 2025, initially suggesting he had been attacked by gangs. However, his family has since clarified that the boxer succumbed to the effects of a strong poison, according to medical findings.
Kanaabi’s mother, quoted by Daily Monitor, narrated the harrowing events leading up to his death.
“I went to his door and heard that he was breathing abnormally. That’s when we forced the door open. I saw volumes of foam in his mouth. He was motionless, one of his hands beneath his body. I called for a car to evacuate him,” she said.
The family first rushed Kanaabi to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kireka, but they were reportedly referred elsewhere due to limited capacity.
“They told us to go to a facility that does thorough heart tests,” his mother added.
Kanaabi was later taken to Healthstone Medical Centre in Banda, where he was placed on oxygen support, but his condition failed to improve. Doctors then referred him to Nsambya Hospital, where further examinations revealed the severity of his condition.
“The diagnosis revealed that Kanaabi was suffering from the effects of a very strong poison. Doctors said it had badly damaged his brain, which caused other organs to fail,” his mother said.
Medics reportedly advised that Kanaabi’s chances of survival were minimal, recommending admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). However, no ICU beds were available at Nsambya Hospital, forcing the family to seek help elsewhere.
Their desperate search eventually led them to Kiruddu National Referral Hospital, where doctors attempted to flush the poison from his system.
“They drew out a lot of green substance, and doctors said the poison was likely a pesticide,” Kanaabi’s mother revealed.
There was a brief moment of hope when Kanaabi began urinating through a catheter, but the situation soon worsened.
“The machines abruptly stopped. Doctors tried to intervene, but Alex was gone,” she said.
News of Kanaabi’s death began circulating on WhatsApp groups shortly after 3:00am, sparking widespread shock across the boxing fraternity and sports community.
Earlier, an audio recording circulating on social media featured a conversation between a young woman and one of Kanaabi’s first responders, in which it was claimed that doctors suggested the boxer had attempted to commit suicide. However, the family has not confirmed this claim.
Kanaabi’s death brings a tragic end to a promising boxing career. In October 2025, he won bronze at the Africa Zone 3 Championships, a feat that marked him as one of Uganda’s rising boxing talents, before capping the year with a domestic league title.
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