IGANGA, UGANDA: Police in Iganga are investigating circumstances under which a 22-year-old mother was electrocuted to death on Thursday morning.
The incident occurred along Iganga old Kaliro road in Nkono II village, Northern division, Iganga Municipality in Iganga district at around 9 am.
The deceased was identified as Basilika Racheal 22, a wife to one Lukwise Livingston who was renting in Nkono II next to National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) offices in the area.
The husband fainted upon receiving the bad news that his wife was electrocuted to death.
Busoga East Police Spokesperson SP Diana Nandawula confirmed the incident saying the deceased was hanging the baby’s wet clothes on a drying line that is connected to a live electric wire.
“She was reportedly hanging wet clothes on a drying line which was in contact with a naked electric wire. The deceased has left her two weeks baby,” SP Nandawula confirmed.
However, Ms Nandawula said police is teaming up with UMEME to ascertain if the incident was due to illegal connections as police investigate the actual cause of the incident.
“We have not arrested anyone in connection to this matter but investigations are ongoing as we link up with UMEME to ascertain if the incident was due to illegal connections,” Nandawula added.
Meanwhile, locals have told DailyExpress that the deceased met the fate after morning rain, attributing the cause of her death to the illegal UMEME connections in the area.
Mugalu Wilberforce Salongo, one of the residents said the incident resulted from illegal power connections where the drying line got in contact with an electric wire.
Another resident, Nangobi Zauja says “Racheal (deceased) was hanging baby clothes and started screaming before falling down with the wire. We thought that she had developed a problem since she gave birth through a cesarean section”.
According to Nangobi, the deceased started bleeding from the mouth, nose and ears immediately after falling down.
The chairperson of Nkono II, Waiswa Eliot has condemned the act of illegal power connections and urged landlords to avoid involving in electricity theft.
“This is the first incident in our village, but I want to urge all landlords to avoid electricity theft. The drying line got into contact with the wire which was illegally connected right from the pole,” Mr Waiswa said.
Police in Iganga rushed to the scene and took the body of Basilika Racheal to Iganga general hospital mortuary for autopsy as investigations continue.
DailyExpress has learnt that the deceased has been struggling to bear children not until God remembered her recently with a baby girl but unfortunately, she has died two weeks after giving birth.
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