Three children of Kawina village in Chifuwe south of Kabompo district in North-western Province have been burnt to death after the grass thatched house they were sleeping in caught fire.
t Kabompo District Commissioner, Hubert Chinyanga, has confirmed receiving the report that the three children namely Chisola Kasanga, a boy aged five, Njinga Kasanga, a girl aged three and Lillian Kasanga, a girl aged two, all died in the inferno on Friday, 1st September 2023 around 21:00 hours.
“I can confirm that I have received the report from police that an unnatural death involving three children occurred in Kawina village of Chifuwe south of Kabompo, when the grass thatched house caught fire from unknown sources and burnt them whilst sleeping,” Mr Chinyanga said.
And speaking in a separate interview, the mother to the deceased kids, Pezo Njuka aged 37, of the same village in chief Sikufele, narrated that her children were left sleeping on Friday night as she went to a neighbouring village to brew local beer known as Kachasu with her friend.
Ms Njuka said she only realised that her house was on fire when she heard neighbours shouting.
She said she rushed to the house and found her children burnt to death.
Police in Kabompo later rushed to the scene and found the bodies of the three children already removed from the inferno.
When the bodies were physically inspected, found legs, hands, lips and ears completely burnt to ashes and the intestines protruding from the stomach.
The bodies of the deceased have since been buried and an inquiry file has been opened while investigations have been instituted to establish the source of the fire.
Meanwhile, Kabompo Stakeholders Association chairperson, Rodgers Chinyemba, has expressed sadness at the death of the three juveniles saying the demise could have been avoided.
Mr Chinyemba said mothers should always put the safety of children first even as they conduct other activities.
“We are saddened by the development as such incidents are avoidable. The children are future leaders and such deaths are painful,” he said.
He has since appealed to government and relevant stakeholders to consider conducting awareness programmes so that the illicit brewing of Kachasu is curbed.
In this day and age, grass-thatched houses should be a thing of the past. Just take the route that Rwanda took. Give a grace period for all citizens to migrate to sensible roofing and after that, institute a ban