Six Family Members Killed by Lightning as House Burns Down in Maracha
Six members of the same family, including four children, were killed after lightning struck and set their grass-thatched house ablaze in the early hours of Saturday in Maracha District.
The tragedy occurred at around 5:00 a.m on Saturday 1first of August in Nyanza Cell, Central Ward, Oleba Town Council. The victims have been identified as Ondirikoa Geoffrey, 37, his wife Enyaru Harriet, 30, and their four children: Patience Desire, 11, Jovia Lenia, 9, Ayikoru Blessing, 7, and one-year-old Jilda Mata.
According to police, the family was asleep when lightning struck their grass-thatched house during a heavy thunderstorm, igniting a fire that engulfed the building. All six occupants died in the blaze, and their bodies were burnt beyond recognition together with their household property.
The incident was first discovered by Candiru Juliet, who lives in the same homestead. She had stepped outside when she noticed the house on fire. She immediately alerted Geoffrey’s father, and the two rushed to the scene, only to find the entire family trapped inside the burning house.
West Nile Regional Police Spokesperson SSP Josephine Angucia said police responded to the scene, documented the incident, examined the site and recorded statements from first responders and relatives.
“The Regional Police Surgeon conducted postmortem examinations on the bodies before they were handed over to the relatives for burial. The six bodies were burnt beyond recognition inside the grass-thatched house together with household property. There were no signs of struggle at the scene, and according to the first responders, the victims were killed by lightning,” SSP Angucia said.
She added that Maracha Death Enquiry File No. 007/2026 has been opened to establish all the circumstances surrounding the incident, although preliminary findings point to a lightning strike as the cause of the fatal fire.