KAMPALA – Kampala Metropolitan Police have launched investigations into a fatal house fire that claimed the lives of two children on the evening of Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Kiyanja Zone, Kawempe Division.
According to Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Public Relations Officer, ASP Luke Owoyesigyire, preliminary investigations indicate that the children’s mother had briefly left them at home while she went to a nearby trading centre.
Before leaving, she reportedly instructed her eight-year-old child to return to the house and light a candle because there was no electricity.
Police said that shortly afterwards, the house caught fire. Neighbours responded after an alarm was raised and attempted to rescue the occupants, but the two children were found dead inside the burning house.
The deceased have been identified as a 13-year-old girl living with a disability and a three-year-old boy.
Officers from the Uganda Police Force, together with personnel from the Fire Prevention and Rescue Services, responded to the scene, extinguished the fire and documented the incident before conveying the bodies to City Mortuary Mulago for postmortem examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that the family lived in a congested single-room house in a densely populated informal settlement. The blaze destroyed all the household property.
Police said the exact cause of the fire has not yet been established and remains under investigation.
Kampala Metropolitan Police extended condolences to the bereaved family and urged the public to exercise extreme caution when using candles and other open flames, particularly in homes where children may be left unattended.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing.
