Two siblings drown in Ora-ber dam

Pader. The residents of Jaka Dek Aronya B Village, Lapul Sub-county in Pader District were left in grief after two siblings were reported to have drowned in Ora-ber dam in Pajule Sub-county, Pader District.

The deceased were identified as Ivan Kidega, 9, and his younger brother Jimmy Okello, 6.
They duo met their death as they had taken cattle to drink water at the dam at the weekend. The deceased are all children of Mr Charles Okello.

The LC3 chairperson of Lapul Sub-county, Mr Brilliant Tito, told Daily Monitor that after grazing the animals, Okello tried to swim and he drowned.

His elder brother then tried to rescue him also drowned.
“There is need to fence off this dam otherwise many lives will still be lost. We are saddened by the death of these children,’’ he said.

He cautioned parents to be careful with the tasks they give their children to accomplish.
He also warned locals especially children who go to fetch water at the dam and resort to swimming yet they have no swimming skills.

This is the third time people are losing lives at the same dam since 2009.

In 2017, a 19-year-old man died in the dam while swimming and in 2009, a 10-year-old also died in the dam while trying to fetch water.

The Aswa region police Public Relations Officer, Mr Jimmy Patrick Okema, confirmed the incident adding that the bodies were retrieved and taken to Pajule Health Centre IV before being handed over to family members.

Oraber dam was constructed in 1945 by the British to help locals in the area since there was a water crisis.