Lightning strikes two in Kabale during elections
Two senior citizens are receiving treatment in critical condition after they were struck by lightning during local elections in Kabale district.
The victims, Moses Kenaama, 69, and Faith Bushambire, 73, both residents of Habugarama village in Kitoma parish, Rubaya sub-county, were among voters gathered on Thursday to participate in the local council elections.
According to Jovia Kenaama, wife of the now deceased Kenaama, the weather changed abruptly during the exercise, forcing the elderly and other voters to seek shelter in a nearby house. While inside, lightning struck, injuring the two, she said.
The victims were rushed to Kitooma health centre III, where they remain under medical observation in critical condition. Kabale lies within the Kigezi sub-region, an area historically prone to lightning strikes.
According to the National Risk and Vulnerability Atlas of Uganda (2021), Kigezi is among the regions with the highest frequency of lightning-related incidents in the country. This is not the first such tragedy in the region.
In March 2023, Olly Baryakabuza, 75, and his son Enoth Tukwasiibwe, 30, were struck dead by lightning in neighbouring Rukungiri district. That same month, Ambrose Kanunu, 35 and his two young sons, Justus Asiimwe, 7 and Arnold Habomugisha, 5, were killed in Rubanda district.
In October 2013, lightning claimed the life of Fortunate Ainembabazi in Rukiga district as she harvested rainwater. On that same day, four others; Geoffrey Rukurukyu of Kamutungu village in Rukiga, Joniva Tibeingana, 43, and her children Ibra Niwamumpaire, 20 and Given Tindimwebwa, 17 of Rubanda also died in similar circumstances.
Local leaders continue to call for more investment in lightning arrestors, early-warning systems, and public awareness campaigns, especially during the rainy season.
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