3 electrocuted to death
A family of three in Nsangi Sub-county, Wakiso district has been electrocuted to death after getting into contact with a live electricity wire connected illegally.
The deceased identified as Asimwe Babirye, 35, Annet, 24, siblings, and Jeremiah Sekalenzi, 5 died on Wednesday morning at 7:00 am at their residence in Kasenge Trading Center.
ASP Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Spokesperson told our reporter Minah Nalule that the house where the deceased family was renting had no power, so they illegally tapped power from the neighborhood.
Owoyesigyire explains that one of the family members identified as Annet accidentally hanged wet clothes on a wire that had a link to power connection and suffered an electric shock after her hands got into contact with the open wire. He adds that in the process Annet sounded an alarm attracting the attention of other family members who also died while trying to rescue her.
“She made an alarm, attracting her sister Asiimwe who came out of the house to help. Asimmwe touched her sister with bare hands to save her and she was also electrocuted. She too made an alarm and her five-year-old child, Sekalenzi, who came to help his mother, too touched his mother and was electrocuted. The trio died instantly.”
Owoyesigyire says by the time neighbours arrived at the scene to disconnect the illegal power connection,all the three were already dead. He says their bodies have been conveyed to the City Mortuary in Mulago for a post mortem.
He says detectives have commenced investigations and are arresting persons behind the illegally connected power. t caution members of the public to avoid illegal power connections.
Police say it is a criminal offense to illegally connect power and they are working with the authorized power distributors UMEME, to arrest people that have illegal connections in the area and Kampala Metropolitan Area.
In 2019, UMEME launched a crackdown on illegal connections countrywide dubbed ‘Komboa’ which was temporarily halted due to the outbreak of Covid 19. In 2021, at least 4,000 persons were arrested in scattered operations countrywide.
According to the 2014 Uganda Police Force Crime Report, at least 10 people die weekly due to electrocution in Uganda.
