Mother, four children perish in house fire
Relatives try to gather body pieces from the gutted house. Photo by Yazid Yolisigira
What you need to know:
- Mr Charles Kirongero, another resident, said the deceased’s neighbour who would have helped to break the door was also reportedly “too drunk to even notice that a house in the neighbourhood was on fire”.
- The badly charred bodies were by press time taken to Iganga Hospital mortuary as investigations continue.
IGANGA-A mother and her four children have died after fire gutted their house in Nkantu Village, Northern Division in Iganga Municipality.
The fire is said to have started at around 3:00am on Sunday night while the deceased were asleep.
According to the Busoga East police Spokesman, James Mubi, the mother identified as Aidah Tendo, 27, and her children; Juma Namudya, 7, Margarita Babirye, 5, Trevor Kandondi, 3, and Trevor Batwawula, aged one-and-a-half years, went to sleep, leaving fire in their charcoal stove, and a candle on.
“Our investigations indicate that the family was living in a congested room and the mother had left cow hooves (mulokoni) on the charcoal stove and a candle on which is suspected to have fallen on a mattress and caught fire that spread to the rest of the house,” Mr Mubi said.
Mr Mubi added that locals delayed to inform police about the inferno and by the time the fire brigade got to the scene, it was too late.
“The fire was too much and we got the information late. So, by the time we dashed in, all the five were already dead,” he regretted.
Mr Muzamiru Nduga, the Defence Secretary of Nkantu Village, suspects the woman to have slept off after consuming alcohol.
“She was seen drinking alcohol at about 9:30pm before returning home. I therefore suspect she was drunk and that could be the reason she forgot to put out the candle and the charcoal stove,” Mr Nduga said.
Mr Charles Kirongero, another resident, said the deceased’s neighbour who would have helped to break the door was also reportedly “too drunk to even notice that a house in the neighbourhood was on fire”.
The badly charred bodies were by press time taken to Iganga Hospital mortuary as investigations continue.
Police, however, asked the public to always ensure that fire is put off before going to rest.
