Poisonous gas kills mother, child
Dec 02, 2010
A three-month-old baby and its mother perished in Kampala after inhaling what the Police suspect was carbon monoxide gas.
By Herbert Ssempogo
A three-month-old baby and its mother perished in Kampala after inhaling what the Police suspect was carbon monoxide gas.
Prossy Nantume and her baby, Brian Nsubuga, died in a bed-sitter in Ggaba mission zone, according to Ibin Ssenkumbi, the Kampala Metropolitan Police publicist.
The two, whose bodies were taken to the city mortuary, were last seen alive at about 5:00pm on Wednesday, according to their neighbour, Aisha Nakawunde.
Nakawunde told the Police that she met the two going back home after buying charcoal from a nearby place.
Nantume’s house was locked when Nakawunde returned from church and she presumed that the mother and her child were asleep.
“When Nantume’s husband, Patrick Mutebi, returned at midnight, he knocked on the door several times but there was no response,†Ssenkumbi said, adding that he sought assistance from Nakawunde.
Mutebi, a boda boda rider, used a knife given to him by Nakawunde to open the door.
When he got inside, the bodies of his wife and child lay on the bed.
Mutebi ran out of the house, shouting that someone had poisoned his wife and child.
However, a Police team that rushed there quickly noticed that there was a charcoal stove in the house, hence the conclusion that they were victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Moreover, the house had neither ventilators nor windows.
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas, which is slightly lighter than air.
It is highly toxic to humans and animals.
The gas interferes with the body’s ability to transport oxygen.
“Their death is probably a result of inhaling the gas from the stove,†Ssenkumbi stated.
A post-mortem examination will be carried out to ascertain the cause of the deaths.
Ssenkumbi said Mutebi would be questioned by detectives about the tragedy.
A three-month-old baby and its mother perished in Kampala after inhaling what the Police suspect was carbon monoxide gas.
Prossy Nantume and her baby, Brian Nsubuga, died in a bed-sitter in Ggaba mission zone, according to Ibin Ssenkumbi, the Kampala Metropolitan Police publicist.
The two, whose bodies were taken to the city mortuary, were last seen alive at about 5:00pm on Wednesday, according to their neighbour, Aisha Nakawunde.
Nakawunde told the Police that she met the two going back home after buying charcoal from a nearby place.
Nantume’s house was locked when Nakawunde returned from church and she presumed that the mother and her child were asleep.
“When Nantume’s husband, Patrick Mutebi, returned at midnight, he knocked on the door several times but there was no response,†Ssenkumbi said, adding that he sought assistance from Nakawunde.
Mutebi, a boda boda rider, used a knife given to him by Nakawunde to open the door.
When he got inside, the bodies of his wife and child lay on the bed.
Mutebi ran out of the house, shouting that someone had poisoned his wife and child.
However, a Police team that rushed there quickly noticed that there was a charcoal stove in the house, hence the conclusion that they were victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Moreover, the house had neither ventilators nor windows.
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas, which is slightly lighter than air.
It is highly toxic to humans and animals.
The gas interferes with the body’s ability to transport oxygen.
“Their death is probably a result of inhaling the gas from the stove,†Ssenkumbi stated.
A post-mortem examination will be carried out to ascertain the cause of the deaths.
Ssenkumbi said Mutebi would be questioned by detectives about the tragedy.