3 found dead in rentals

Nov 21, 2020

One of the deceased had a sack of charcoal in the house that had caught fire, but none of her house belongings got burnt.

MBARARA|DEATH

MBARARA - On Thursday morning (November 19, 2020), shock gripped residents of Market Cell, Nyamityobora ward, in Mbarara city, after three people were found dead in their rental units.

Anita Nuwaha from Kanungu district, Susan Nakyanzi, a recent graduate of Kakoba Institute of Commercial and Technical Studies Rutagarama and George Fisher, aged 48, are suspected to have died due to suffocation.

Faith Chemutai, a neighbour of the deceased, said she last saw Nakyanzi at 9:00 pm the previous night, when she had retired from her business.

She said Nakyanzi entered her house with a burning charcoal stove before closing the door.

"In the morning, we saw fumes coming out of her room. Given the fact that she had locked the door with padlocks from inside, no one could get in. We invited the landlady who sent for someone to break the door. We found her dead on the bed," Chemutai said.

She added: "She had a sack of charcoal in the house that had caught fire. However, none of her house belongings got burnt."

Fisher and Nuwaha were neighbours of Nakyanzi on either sides, so it is suspected that the smoke spread to the other two rooms as the burning charcoal intensified. Other neighbours said Nuwaha was found unconscious before the Police were called in to take her to hospital.

However, she died on the way. Edrisa Ndawula, the LC1 chairman of Market Cell, said the rental units are owned by Mutoro Bainomugisha.

Ndawula said Nakyanzi may have placed the charcoal stove close to the sack of charcoal, making it catch fire.

He advised residents to desist from leaving charcoal stoves with fire overnight. Samson Kasasira, the Rwizi regional Police spokesperson, said the bodies were taken to Mbarara Hospital for a post-mortem.

This is the second time a suffocation case is reported in the same area. 

Recently, one person was found dead in his room after inhaling carbon monoxide from a burning charcoal stove.

Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, and harmful gas that kills silently without even causing pain.

Experts said carbon monoxide is produced as a result of partial burning of carbon in fuels, such as petrol, charcoal, and wood and that when inhaled, it combines with hemoglobin in the lungs.

This prevents oxygen from combining with hemoglobin, which is the part of the blood that transports oxygen around the body. In this case, carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the body.

As a result, cells are starved of oxygen and, consequently, a person loses consciousness. Poisonous lactic acid is released from the liver and kidney and spreads to the heart, leading to death.

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