A devastating incident has shocked residents of Kirewa Sub-county in Uganda’s Tororo District; two siblings lost their lives in what police suspect was a silent killer lurking in their own home: deadly fumes from indoor charcoal cooking.
On the evening of June 15, 2026, 22-year-old Jane Awor was preparing rice for dinner on a charcoal stove inside the sitting room of their boys’ quarters home in Abari C Zone. Her two young daughters, four-year-old Nyapendi Nosiata and two-year-old Akello Susan, were fast asleep in the nearby bedroom.
What should have been an ordinary family night ended in unbelievable loss. Awor, according to the Daily Monitor, began feeling dizzy and went to sleep before finishing the meal. When she woke up around 4 a.m. the next morning, she found her children unresponsive on the bed, with white foam coming from their noses. Panicking, she tried to seek help but soon became too weak to continue. Her father-in-law eventually rushed her to a nearby clinic and alerted authorities. 
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Police Investigation Underway
Bukedi South Regional Police have confirmed they are treating the deaths as a suspected suffocation incident linked to poor ventilation and fumes from the charcoal stove. The building they stayed in had limited airflow. It had just one entrance and two windows. Investigators noted excessive heat inside when they arrived at the scene, Daily Monitor reported.
A charcoal stove with partially cooked rice was recovered from the house. The children’s bodies were transported to Tororo Municipal Mortuary for postmortem examination to determine the exact cause of death. Police have opened case files at Kirewa Sub-county Police Station and Tororo, with crime officers and homicide detectives actively investigating. Witness statements have been recorded, and results from the postmortem are awaited.
IP Moses Mugwe, the regional police spokesperson, emphasized that such tragedies are heartbreaking reminders of the dangers of cooking with charcoal or other biomass fuels in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces.
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This is not the first Uganda charcoal stove tragedy. Similar incidents have been reported in districts like Mbale and Rubanda in recent years. Indoor air pollution from traditional cooking methods remains a significant public health risk across many parts of the country, particularly in rural and low-income households.
Carbon monoxide, an odorless and colorless gas produced by burning charcoal, can quickly overwhelm sleeping victims who may not even wake up.
Health experts consistently warn against using charcoal stoves indoors without proper ventilation.
As the family grapples with this unimaginable grief, the community in Tororo is mourning the loss of two bright young lives taken far too soon. Jane Awor remains under medical care, dealing with both physical recovery and the emotional trauma of losing her children in such a sudden and preventable way.
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