While busy unwinding at a village nightclub as he usually does at weekends and public holidays, tragedy struck.
Upon return home in the wee hours of Monday morning and looking haggard, Mr George Oware Kange was greeted with news of the gruesome death of his three children of two to four years old.
Dumbfounded, Mr Oware Kange demanded to know the whereabouts of his wife, Sylvia Monica when their three toddlers perished in a fire.
Not to be cowed, Ms Sylvia Monica shot back, blaming her husband’s love of the bottle of hard liquor for the disaster, saying if he had not gone out partying; no catastrophe would have befallen them.
“Our youngest child suddenly started feeling uneasy again; he was beginning to cough blood. For the last two days, he had a bout of malaria. So I decided to go and look for my husband so we could arrange to have the child get some medical attention” she said.
“It was about midnight and quite dark here. So I lit the candle before going out to look for their father all over the neighbourhood. I didn’t find him because he had gone dancing. I walked nearly two miles looking for him,’’ she added.
Although Mr Oware Kange didn’t deny he was in a club dancing away the night, he insisted his wife was squarely responsible for the demise of their children Kasede Badru Moses, 2, Gadaffi Oware George, barely three years old, and Derik Okello Kange, 4. Speaking in an interview on Monday, he said he had made it clear just as he always does, that he will be merry-making in Buwora Trading Centre till late and there was no need to leave the children alone in search of his whereabouts.
“Sylvia Monica did not play her part as a mother. I left home by 9pm and after telling her where I was going. This is not the first time I am going dancing. I do this always. She ought to have known better,” he said before claiming that two months ago his wife threatened to kill him and the children.
Wrath of the locals
The Buwora village council chairperson, Mr John Kenge Halahala, condemned Mr Kange as negligent and unserious, saying he deserves time behind bars.
He also blamed the neighbours who were pointing the finger at each other for not doing enough to rescue the three innocent children from painful death in the fire.
“If the neighbours had showed real togetherness and concern, the children would have not died this way,’’ he said:
Police take
The East Busoga regional police Spokesperson, Mr James Mubi, said the fire was caused by the candle which first burnt a mosquito net before engulfing the house, killing the three toddlers.
He said after investigations, Mr Oware could be charged with child neglect.
Meanwhile, thousands of mourners turned up for the burial of the three children, all blaming the parents and neighbours for not doing enough to save the toddlers from perishing in the fire.