Police in Soroti City, eastern Uganda, are investigating the tragic deaths of three children who suffocated after being left inside a locked vehicle during a burial.

The victims, Sylvia Ayano (12), Micah Oboi (10), and Marvin Egunyu (6), formerly pupils of St. Lucia Nursery and Primary Madera in Soroti City. They had travelled with their uncle, Charles Oboi Edimu, to attend the burial of his sister, Pauline Arupo, in Obutei A Cell, Arapai Ward, yesterday Wednesday.

It is alleged that upon arrival, Oboi rushed to join the family introductions, which coincided with his arrival, forgetting the children in the car. Even after the introductions, Oboi apparently became preoccupied with the burial proceedings and completely forgot about the children who were still locked inside the vehicle.

It wasn’t until after the burial in the evening that he discovered the children unresponsive inside the car. Despite efforts to rush them to Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, the children had tragically passed away.

Two of the deceased were children of Oboi’s brother, Anthony Olupot, and the third was the child of a niece, Aidah Idatu.

Vincent Opio, the councillor for Arapai Ward, confirmed the children’s deaths and noted the futile attempts to resuscitate them. Soroti City West Division police commander, Muhammed Rashid Byansi, stated that a general inquiry file has been opened to understand the circumstances of the incident, with further investigation pending. The police have since ordered a postmortem to determine the exact cause of death.