By John Semakula

TWO years ago, when 22-year-old Cissy Nalya’s child died from malaria, it was a nightmare. She cried for months, but her husband consoled her that their other children would keep them happy.

But on June 23, lightning killed them.

“I will never heal. I lost my parents when I was young and my children were my consolation, but now they are all dead,” she laments.

At the time of disaster, Nalya was in Kamuli district working as a shop attendant. The children were living with their great grandparents, Janet Namatovu, 50, and Peter Ssengoba, 80, in Koba village.

Nalya had just been planning to visit them. She wishes she had done so earlier.

“I received a call at 2:00pm from my grandfather that my children had been killed by lightning. I nearly collapsed,” lamented Nalya.

When she composed herself, she thought her grandfather was being cruel. “I rebuked my grandfather because I thought he was cracking a cruel joke. But when somebody else came with the same message, I started panicking,” she said.   

On the fateful day, lightning struck and killed the children as they were returning home from Luwombo Primary School in Buikwe sub-county, Buikwe district. The bodies of Felista Nakibudde, 7, and Angel Nsubuga, 5, were found lying under a tree in the school compound. Besides the two was another body of their cousin, Allan Ssenyonga, 5. Prior to the incident, the three lived in the same home in Koba village.

According to their teachers, the deceased, who were in lower classes, had been released from school at 1:00pm and were returning home when the disaster struck.

Before the incident, the children usually returned home with another cousin, Rogers Kyeyune, a P.2 pupil. But on the fateful day, he was still in class so they waited for him from under a huge tree where they met their death.

“Someone alerted us that there were three pupils lying unconscious under the tree. We ran to find out what had happened, but by that time, the three had died,” said Bashir Muloji, one of the teachers at the school.

The bodies had burns all over, which showed that they had died of lightning. When the news of the incident circulated, wailing parents jammed the school. Later Lugazi Police took the bodies to Kawolo Hospital for a post-mortem.

A year ago, the children were studying at Koba P.S, but their guardians transferred them to Luwombo P.S.

Ssengoba regrets why he transferred them. “I didn’t know that I was taking them to their grave.”

The children’s death has affected the senior couple deeply. “I have been sick since the incident. I am failing to adjust to life without them,” Namatovu said.

“I do not owe anyone anything. Why should I lose three grandchildren at once?” a grief-stricken Ssengoba wondered.

Life without the children is a nightmare for the couple. “They helped us with domestic work, washed the utensils, fetched water and took the goats to graze. They would also entertain us. We can’t imagine living without them,” Namatovu said.

Since the incident, several theories have been fronted to explain the lightning.

One is that the school was built in the path of spirit locally known as omusambwa.

The other theory is the felling of a huge Muvule tree whose stump still stands in the school compound was the source of the problems. The tree is alleged to have been home to the spirit said to have got annoyed for demolishing its home.

What causes lightning?
Lightning strikes are usually common at the beginning and end of the rainy season because there is a lot of energy built-up in the air. The increase in lightning is attributed to climate change and massive deforestation, which is destroying the trees, which are the channel for transmitting it.

Lightning connects to earth through high points like trees, buildings, human beings and animals. Areas around the lakes are the high-risk areas.

Scientists have linked lightning to the sudden expansion and contraction of air.

As the air masses, cumulus and cumulo-nimbus clouds move in opposite directions, they generate heat and expand.

Due to the increase in the volume, the air occupies more space. When it encounters cold air, it contracts causing thunder.

When the sound waves are being transmitted, they encounter cold air and generate an electric discharge, which moves towards the earth.

Recent incidents
June 23: Three pupils in Luwombo P.S in Buikwe district
June 26: Three mourners killed and 15 others injured in Alebtong district
June 28: 18 pupils killed and 36 others injured at Runyanya P.S in Kiryandongo district
June 28: 31 pupils and two teachers injured at Paidha PS in Zombo district
July 1: Two pupils killed, eight others injured at Kalagala P.S in Buikwe
July 4: Seven head-of-cattle killed in Luwero district
June 21: Two pupils from one family killed at Nawangoma Primary School in Jinja District
June 22: Eleven students injured at Valley Hill Secondary School in Kaliro district