KAMPALA – Police have launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding an attack on five children in Kalungu Bunga, Ggaba Parish, which left two siblings dead and three others seriously injured.
The investigation is focused on several unanswered questions, including a reported disagreement involving members of the family on Wednesday, the discovery of a five-litre jerrycan suspected to have contained petrol and the subsequent fire that destroyed a Toyota Hiace parked at the home.
The children’s mother, 43-year-old Dorothy Namayo, a Kenyan national, was also found injured at the scene. She remains admitted to Mulago National Referral Hospital under police guard.
Police have not established a motive for the attack or publicly determined who started the fire.
According to preliminary information gathered by detectives, the incident came to light at about 4:00 a.m. After a housemaid was awakened by an alarm and cries for help coming from the main house.
When she went to investigate, she reportedly found several children with severe stab wounds. Namayo was also found injured and was rushed to hospital.
Neighbours who responded to the alarm described a chaotic scene as they attempted to gain access to the house and rescue the children.
Mary Mubiru, the chairperson of Kalungu Bunga Village, said she was initially alerted by a neighbour who reported that a vehicle at the residence was on fire.
Before she arrived, Mubiru said, the children’s father contacted her and asked her to intervene, alleging that his wife was attacking the children.
“I rushed there and found people trying to enter the house,” Mubiru said.
Some residents reportedly climbed over the perimeter wall to reach the children. Mubiru said the rescuers found one of the older children dead, while others were critically injured and crying for help.
Peter Waburokho, a neighbour who was among the first people to enter the compound, said he arrived at around 5:00 a.m. after noticing the fire.
He described the scene inside the house as chaotic, with injured children calling for help.
Waburokho said one of the injured children told rescuers that their mother was responsible for the attack. However, police have not independently confirmed the claim and are treating it as part of the witness accounts being examined.
Investigators are also looking into reports of a disagreement involving members of the family on Wednesday.
Waburokho said he had heard about the disagreement and that the children’s father was away when the attack occurred. However, other residents said they had never witnessed serious domestic problems involving the family.
Mubiru said she had never received complaints of violence at the household.
Ssebandeke Atanansi, who said he has lived in the area for about 15 years, also said he had never seen the couple engage in serious disagreements. He described the family as generally peaceful and urged people experiencing domestic conflicts to seek assistance before disputes escalate.
The differing accounts have become part of the questions detectives are seeking to resolve as they reconstruct events leading up to the attack.
Police Fire Prevention and Rescue Services responded to the scene and extinguished the fire that destroyed the Toyota Hiace.
Investigators recovered a five-litre jerrycan suspected to have contained petrol, alongside other exhibits from the scene. The items are expected to undergo forensic examination to establish the cause of the fire and whether it was deliberately started.
Homicide detectives, Scene of Crime Officers and fire investigators have examined the house and documented evidence. Police have also recorded statements from the person who reported the incident and other witnesses.
Luke Owoyesigyire, the Deputy Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, said investigators were working to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths, injuries and fire, as well as the motive behind the attack.
Namayo remains hospitalised under police guard. Investigators are expected to record her statement once her medical condition permits.
The incident has renewed concern among residents following another fatal attack involving children in the wider Ggaba Parish area earlier this year.
On April 2, four children, three boys and a girl, were stabbed to death at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program daycare centre in Makindye Division.
Police arrested 34-year-old Christopher Okello Onyum at the scene in connection with the killings, and the case was subsequently taken to court.
Police have not linked the two incidents, but their occurrence in the same general area has heightened concerns about child safety.
Investigators say the latest case will depend on evidence recovered from the scene, forensic findings, witness statements and the account expected from the injured mother.
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