A couple in Butagaya sub county in Jinja district is on the run after four of their five children perished in the Monday night fire that burnt their house.
The four children identified as Bridget Nabirye 9, Wison Bakalikwira 7, Wycliffe Mwayuya 5, and Ashvin Mutabuza 3 years were burnt to ashes after fire gutted the house they were sleeping in.
Trouble started when Emmanuel Mukama 28 and his 25 year old wife, Edith Namulondo, all residents of Namwendwa LCI Zone C in Butagaya Sub County developed domestic misunderstandings during the day prompting the wife to pack up all her belongings to go to her father’s home in Ndiwansi, a neighboring village.
The woman however left behind all the children including a nine-month-old.
The area LC I chairman, Peter Mutabuza who is also the father to Mukama told police that they heard the child crying loud at around 11pm.
The father decided to move in the night to take the crying baby to the mother, leaving a candle burning in the house where the rest of the children were sleeping.
When he returned after taking the baby to Ndiwansi he found the house burning and by the time neighbours rushed to the scene, it had been razed down and everything in it including children burnt to ashes.
Moses Batwala, a former area District councilor who rushed to the scene described the incident as tragic.
On realizing the mistake, Mukama vanished to an unknown destination and the wife also later took off after learning about the tragedy.
Jinja police criminal investigations officer, Ivan Bruno Kimalyo confirmed the inferno saying police has started pursuing the couple as they investigate the cause of fire.
