A dead woman, her fugitive partner and their two abandoned children.

That sums up the tragic story that has emerged from Uganda's eastern city of Soroti, where the discovery Wednesday of the decomposing body of a woman left the residents of Madera ward in Eastern division in shock.

The woman, believed to be in her 30s, was identified only as Locoro from the Karimojong clan of Bokora.

On the morning of Wednesday, her neighbours were hit by a strong stench coming from Locoro's house.

The unpleasant smell was accompanied by a swarm of flies hovering around the house, which was closed.

Inside, Locoro's body appeared mutilated and in a decomposed state.

The residents called Police, who arrived at the scene.

John Robert Tukei, the East Kyoga Region Police spokesperson and liaison officer, identified the deceased.

He said the prime suspect is the dead woman's partner, named only as Lokiru, who is on the run.

Tukei said the suspect likely took off after the alleged crime, which is believed to have been committed last Friday.

Police took the body to a hospital mortuary for a postmortem examination as investigations into the death got underway.

Meanwhile, Paul Okutu from Nakapiripirit district and his wife Agnes Naduku were the first people to discover the body. For now, they have taken in Locoro and Lokiru's two abandoned children.

Okutu and Naduku claimed that their neighbours regularly engaged in domestic fights and that they were habitual drunkards.

Another resident, Jacinta Akunyo, said she had last seen Locoro last Thursday. At the time, the mother of two was seated on her verandah, busy slicing a cabbage.

Alex Akora, the LC1 secretary for defense of Madera, said the couple has been embroiled in domestic conflicts.