Police in Kampala are investigating a tragic fire incident in Ssemwogere Zone in Nakawa Division, Kampala after a one-year-old girl reportedly suffocated to death inside a burning house on Tuesday.
According to Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Racheal Kawala, the Local Council II Chairperson of Ssemwogere Zone alerted police after a house occupied by Simon Semwogere caught fire, with reports indicating that a child had been trapped inside.
Kawala confirmed that emergency responders, including the fire brigade, rushed to the scene and successfully put out the blaze. However, they found that Evelyn Najuma, aged one, had died in the inferno.
“Preliminary findings indicate that two children had been left in the house by their mother, who had allegedly moved out to fetch water from a nearby tap,” Kawala said.
She noted that investigators have established that the house did not have electricity at the time of the fire. It is alleged that the deceased’s four-year-old brother escaped and ran to alert their mother, leaving his younger sister behind.
“By the time the mother ran back, the roof had already collapsed on the child,” Kawala noted.
The body of the deceased has been transferred to Mulago Mortuary for a post-mortem examination.
Police say investigations are still ongoing to determine the exact cause of the fire.