Wild fire kills 38 year old woman in Yumbe

Yumbe, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT  |  A 38-year-old woman in Yumbe district has died after she was trapped in a bush fire over the weekend.

Ramulah Angua the deceased from Kuruga village met her fate as she returned from Gombe Health Center Three in Kululu Sub County where she had sought treatment following a chameleon bite.

The wild fire that swept across two villages of Kuruga and Kulacha also destroyed over 500 acres of crops including cassava, bananas and several acres of planted eucalyptus trees.

Mohamad Yazid, the husband to the deceased who had taken her to the health center disclosed that on arrival home, he left her seated outside with a relative and went into the house to rest. Yazid said he only woke up from the house after hearing cries from the relative he had left the wife with.

“I immediately rushed out but found Ramula was nowhere to be seen and when I asked Ramula’s relative why she ran crying, she told me they saw Ramula going in the direction of the fire earlier and do not know where she is,” said Yazid, adding: “I heard the cry of Ramula in the direction of the fire but all efforts we made to rescue her from the fire were futile as the bush fire intensified, making it difficult.”

When he made a search after the fire reduced, he found Ramula’s body lying terribly burnt. The incident was reported to the police in neighboring Romogi Sub County who rushed to the scene and handed the body to the relatives for burial on Sunday.

Meanwhile Zaitun Sabura a resident in the same village said there is rampant setting of bushes on fire in the area which has caused a lot of damage to property. Rasul Simba of Kuruga village Romogi Sub County and a witness of the incident said there are people who secretly set bushes on fire and do not bother about its consequences.

Police have launched investigations in to the incident and also urged local leaders to sensitize and report on bush burning. The two Sub Counties of Romogi and Kululu experience wild bush fires especially during dry season between January and March as locals go hunting for wild animals.

In 2018 the same villages of Kuruga and Kulacha were swept by wild fires which destroyed several acres of crops and burnt down 12 grass thatched houses.

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