Lightning kills Sembabule mother, injures daughter
Uganda usually experiences higher lightening related fatalities during rainy seasons. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The incident occurred at Kasongode Village in Lugusulu Sub-County in Sembabule District.
Shock gripped residents of Sembabule District on Monday after lightning struck a mother and injured her daughter during a heavy downpour.
The incident occurred at Kasongode Village in Lugusulu Sub-county in Sembabule District.
The deceased has been identified as Manjeri Asiimwe, a wife to Mr Nathan Mwesigye, the chairperson Kasongode Village- while their daughter Joyce Kankunda is nursing wounds at Lugusulu Health Centre IV in Sembabule District.
Mr Mwesigye said he was shocked to see the house on fire following a lightning bolt and he was surprised to find his wife dead and the minor injured.
“We were four people in the house during downpour and lightning struck through the door and it left her dead and her daughter injured but the two of us survived,” he explained.
Last Month, lightning killed six people in Rubanda, Rakai and Kanungu Districts in a space of one week.
In April 2011, 19 girls and three boys died at Runyanga Primary School in Masindi District after lightning struck the school. Another 36 pupils sustained injuries. During the same month, at least 28 people were killed and scores injured following sporadic bolts of lightning in various parts of the country.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation, Uganda has one of the highest rates of lightning strike deaths in the world and rural schools are among those mostly affected.
