A lightning strike in Hoima has claimed the life of a 35-year-old man and left a 12-year-old girl critically injured.
The deceased has been identified as Ari Wanichan, while the injured girl, only identified as Monday, is currently receiving treatment at Hoima Regional Referral hospital.
The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon during a heavy downpour in Ndaragi village, Ndaragi Parish, Kisukuma sub-county. According to Geoffrey Omirambe, a neighbour, the two were sheltering inside their home when the lightning struck. Omirambe reported that upon hearing their screams for help, residents rushed to the scene and found Wanichan dead.
The community quickly mobilized to transport Monday to the hospital for urgent medical care. This is not the first time lightning has caused fatalities in the region. In September 2007, a lightning strike killed seven pupils and critically injured seventeen others at Bujogo Primary School in Bugambe sub-county, Kikuube district.
Similarly, in September 2017, lightning injured 16 pupils at Kifumura Primary School in Buhanika sub-county. A month later, in October 2017, lightning struck St. Prisca Primary School in Hoima, killing four pupils.