Family of five burnt to death in Kiryandongo

Apr 21, 2013

A family of five died when the hut they were sleeping in was set ablaze using petrol by unknown people at Karungu One village in Kiryandongo sub-county, Kiryandongo district yesterday morning at about 2:00am, the Police have said.

By Chris Ocowun, Saidi Engola and Frederick Kiwanuka

SUNDAY VISION - A family of five died when the hut they were sleeping in was set ablaze using petrol by unknown people at Karungu One village in Kiryandongo sub-county, Kiryandongo district yesterday morning at about 2:00am, the Police have said.

The District Police Commander (DPC) of Kiryandongo, Patrick Byaruhanga identified the dead as Anna Awelo, 56; Agnes Abalo, 20; Jeros Amone, an S.4 student at Kibanda SS; Prossy, four and a two-week-old baby.

The head of the household, Obwona Magado, survived the incident because he had slept in a separate hut. “These attackers used petrol and toilet paper to burn the hut. We recovered a jerrycan and toilet paper at the scene,” Byaruhanga said, adding that two suspects have been arrested in connection to the incident. The suspects being held at Kiryandongo police station are Vincent Okello and Denis Opio, both residents of Kiryandongo.

Byaruhanga advised people to preserve scenes of crime, saying the Police reached the scene when people had tampered with everything.

This is the second hut to be burnt in the family since the beginning of this month.

“Two weeks ago, a hut was burnt and the case was not reported to the Police. If they had reported to us, we would have investigated and prevented this death,” Byaruhanga said.

Without divulging more details, Byaruhanga hinted that it seems there was a grudge between the attacked family and the attackers.

“People should be calm and give the Police time to investigate. These are isolated cases by people with wrong ideas. All the offenders will be brought to book and charged,” he said. According to Byaruhanga, the case is registered as CRR/356/2013.

He said such crimes are not common in Kiryandongo district, adding that it is the first time he is receiving such a case where people are burnt to death inside a house by unknown offenders.

 

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