Mother killed, child survives bush fire
One of the many burnt bushes in the region. PHOTO BY John Okot
Kitgum. A woman identified as Auma Akidi was burnt to death in a bush fire while her 13-year-old son sustained injuries on Saturday.
It is said the two were in their sorghum garden harvesting at the time of the incident.
Mr Tiberio Oyu, the Akurumo parish councillor, said the fire originated from Lubalangit Sub-county in Kabong District. The boy who sustained the injuries is nursing wounds at Orom Health Centre III.
Crops worth million of shillings were also burnt. The chairperson Orom Sub-county, Mr Quirino Olum, said preliminary investigations reveal the fire could have been started by either hunters or Karimajong pastoralists.
“Sub-county authorities are investigating who could have started it and have them arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
He added: “Apart from the sudden death and injury, the fire also devastated several grass-thatched huts.”
The incident happened at a time when Kitgum Resident District Commissioner Capt Santo Okot Lapolo had just appealed to the public to desist from bush burning during the current dry season.
