Two people are battling for their lives at Kitooma Health Centre III in Rubaya Sub-county, Kabale District, after they were struck by lightning on Thursday afternoon.
The victims have been identified as Moses Kenaama, 69, and Faith Bushambire, 73, both residents of Habugarama Village in Kitoma Parish.
According to Jovia Kenaama, wife to Moses Kenaama, the incident occurred as the elderly gathered to participate in local elections. She says the rain started suddenly, forcing all voters to take shelter in a nearby house. While inside, lightning struck, injuring the two victims.
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Jovia told URN that the two were rushed to Kitooma Health Centre III in critical condition, where they remain under medical care as of Saturday morning. By press time, police had not issued a formal statement regarding the incident.
The Kigezi region is known to be one of Uganda's lightning-prone areas, according to the National Risk and Vulnerability Atlas of Uganda 2021. This is not the first such incident in the region. In March 2023, Olly Baryakabuza, 75, and his son Enoth Tukwasiibwe, 30, both from Rukungiri District, were struck dead by lightning.
That same month, Ambrose Kanunu, 35, and his two sons, Justus Asiimwe, 7, and Arnold Habomugisha, 5, all residents of Rubanda District, also died in a lightning strike. In a similar tragedy in October 2013, Fortunate Ainembabazi of Rukiga District was killed while harvesting rainwater.
On the same day, Geoffrey Rukurukyu of Kamutungu Village in Rukiga, Joniva Tibeingana (43), and her two children, Ibra Niwamumpaire (20) and Given Tindimwebwa (17), from Rubanda District, also lost their lives to lightning strikes during a storm.
