WAKISO-UGANDA/NEWSDAY: A five year old boy is among the family of three who died after being electrocuted while he attempted to help his mothers who had been struck by electricity.
The boy, Jeremiah Sekalenzi, had been responding to a distress call by her mother, Annet aged 24 who earlier got stuck at a cloth hanger that was in contact with electric wiresdue to poor connection.
“When Annet yelled, her son came to rescue, not knowing it was dangerous. He was then struck and died instantly,” one eye witness has told Newsday.
Another woman, sister to Annet who was identified by police as Asiimwe Babirye aged 35 also came to assist only to be electrocuted, making three deaths in less than five minutes.
The incident happened in Kasenge in Wakiso District on Thursday at 7am. Police said the short circuit was caused by poor wiring of the house the three rented.
“It has been established that the house where the deceased family was renting had no power, so they illegally tapped power from the neighborhood,” a police statement said.
A police statement explained that Annet’s hands remained in contact with the live wire. She then made alarm, which attracted the rest of the deceased who touched her with bare hands only to be electrocuted.
The neighbors came and disconnected the wire from the power.
The bodies of the three deceased have been conveyed to the city mortuary Mulago for a post mortem.
Police cautioned members of the public to avoid illegal power connections.
“It is a criminal offence to illegally connect your residence to the national grid. The police is working with power distributors to arrest people that have illegal connections in the area and Kampala Metropolitan Area,” Kampala metropolitan deputy spokesperson Luke Oweyesigire said.
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