Police in Mbale city have arrested a pastor following the electrocution of a 19-year-old student at a rental property he owns — a death that authorities have linked to an illegal electricity connection.
The deceased has been identified as Evaline Adongo, a Senior Five student at Gill Sherlock Memorial Secondary School. She was reportedly electrocuted last Thursday in Namabasa Zone 3A, Doko ward, in Mbale Industrial City Division.
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The landlord, Pastor Hassan Wabutwa, has since been taken into custody as investigations continue.
Killed Instantly While Doing a Routine Chore
According to Rogers Taitika, the Elgon regional police spokesperson, Adongo was ironing clothes when she came into contact with electricity and died instantly — a chilling reminder of how an everyday task turned fatal.
A team comprising homicide detectives, scene-of-crime officers, and other investigators visited and documented the scene. Taitika said the body bore fresh burn marks on the left hand, consistent with electrocution.
Preliminary findings paint a troubling picture of the property itself. Police say the house where the incident occurred — owned by Wabutwa and occupied by nine male and female students — had an illegal electricity connection.
Adongo’s body was conveyed to Mbale City mortuary for a postmortem examination.
A Warning to Landlords and Students
The tragedy has prompted a stern warning from police to landlords, students, and the general public against the use of illegal power connections, which Taitika described as both dangerous and unlawful.
He stressed that landlords have a responsibility to ensure their buildings are fitted with certified electrical wiring before renting them out — a standard that, had it been met, may have saved a young life.
The Bigger Concern
For thousands of students living in off-campus rentals across Uganda, Adongo’s death is a sobering wake-up call. Illegal and substandard electrical connections remain alarmingly common in student accommodation, where the pressure to cut costs too often comes at the expense of safety.
The case now rests with investigators, but the lesson is already painfully clear. A 19-year-old with her studies still ahead of her lost her life to a hazard that should never have existed in the first place.
The CampusBee community extends its heartfelt condolences to Evaline Adongo’s family, friends, and the entire Gill Sherlock Memorial Secondary School community during this difficult time.