Kampala, Uganda | URN | Police are investigating what may have triggered the deadly attack on five children in Kalungu Bunga, Ggaba Parish, after new details emerged about the events leading to the deaths of two siblings and the serious injury of three others. Investigators are examining witness accounts of a disagreement involving the family on Wednesday, the discovery of a five-litre jerrycan suspected to have contained petrol, and the circumstances under which a Toyota Hiace parked at the home caught fire.
The children’s mother, 43-year-old Dorothy Namayo, a Kenyan national, remains admitted at Mulago National Referral Hospital under police guard after she was also found injured at the scene. Police have not yet established a motive or publicly confirmed who started the fire. According to preliminary accounts gathered by detectives, the alarm was raised at about 4:00 a.m. on Thursday when a housemaid was awakened by an alarm and cries for help from the main house. When she went to investigate, she reportedly found several children with severe stab wounds.
The children’s mother was also found injured and was taken to hospital. Neighbours who responded to the alarm described a scene of confusion as they tried to get into the house and rescue the children. Mary Mubiru, the chairperson of Kalungu Bunga Village, said she was first alerted by a neighbour who told her that a vehicle at the home was burning. But before she reached the scene, Mubiru said, the children’s father contacted her and asked her to intervene, claiming that his wife was attacking the children.
“I rushed there and found people trying to enter the house,” Mubiru said. Some neighbours reportedly climbed over the wall to reach the children. “What happened inside shocked everyone,” she said. Mubiru said the rescuers found one of the older children dead, while others were seriously injured and crying for help. Peter Waburokho, a neighbour who was among the first residents to enter the premises, said he arrived at about 5:00 a.m. after noticing the fire. He said the situation inside the house was chaotic, with injured children crying for help.
Waburokho also said one of the injured children told rescuers that their mother was responsible for the attack. Police have not independently established this account and are treating it as part of the witness evidence being examined. Another detail investigators are looking into is a reported disagreement involving the family on Wednesday. Waburokho said he had heard about the disagreement and that the children’s father was away when the attack occurred. The account, however, differs from that of other residents who said they had never known the family to have serious domestic problems. Mubiru said she had never received reports of violence involving the household.
Ssebandeke Atanansi, who says he has lived in the area for about 15 years, also said he had never witnessed the couple fighting. He described the family as generally calm and urged people facing domestic disagreements to seek help before conflicts escalate. The conflicting accounts are now part of the questions detectives are trying to answer as they reconstruct the hours before the attack. Police Fire Prevention and Rescue Services also responded to the scene and extinguished the fire that destroyed the Toyota Hiace. Investigators recovered the five-litre jerrycan, which they suspect may have contained petrol, along with other exhibits.
The items are to undergo forensic examination to establish how the fire started and whether it was deliberately set. Homicide detectives, Scene of Crime Officers and fire investigators have since examined the house and documented the scene. Police have also recorded statements from the person who reported the incident and other witnesses. Luke Owoyesigyire, Deputy Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, said investigators were working to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths, injuries and fire, as well as the motive behind the attack.
Namayo remains hospitalised and under police guard. Investigators are expected to obtain her account of what happened once her condition allows. The investigation comes months after another deadly incident involving children in Ggaba Parish. On April 2, four children—three boys and a girl—were stabbed to death at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program daycare centre in Makindye Division.
Police arrested 34-year-old Christopher Okello Onyum at the scene in connection with the killings, and the case was later taken to court. While the two incidents are not linked, their proximity has left residents worried about the safety of children in the area. Police say the answers will depend on the evidence recovered from the scene, witness accounts and the statement expected from the injured mother.
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