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A 43-year-old Kenyan woman, Dorothy Namayo, has been accused of killing two of her daughters and critically injuring three other children in a tragic domestic incident in Kalungu Bunga, Ggaba, Makindye Division, Uganda.
Police identified the deceased as Khadija Daizy, 14, who died at the scene, and Hawa Dalena, 7, who later died at Nsambya Hospital. Three other children, aged 13, 8 and 5, survived with injuries and are receiving treatment.
The family's housemaid, Mariam Saana, told investigators she was awakened around 5 a.m. by loud noises from the main house. She said she found a car on fire outside and heard one of the children crying from a window that their mother had stabbed them.
Saana said the house and compound had been locked with new locks, preventing immediate access. She raised an alarm, prompting neighbours to force open the gate and the front door before breaking into the children's rooms.
Responders rushed the injured children to a nearby clinic before they were transferred to Nsambya Hospital. The suspect was later found inside the house with injuries and was also taken to hospital under police custody.
Neighbour Godfrey Mukisa said one child was found dead with severe neck injuries, while the others had sustained multiple stab wounds.
Investigators believe the attack followed a domestic dispute between Namayo and her husband, Ederisa Troy, a Malian national. According to the housemaid, the couple argued after the wife accused her husband of infidelity and taking another wife.
Saana said the family's problems reportedly began in May after the husband allegedly married a second wife because he wanted sons, while the couple had only daughters. She claimed the marriage had since been plagued by frequent quarrels.
Another neighbour, Emmanuel Kazibwe, said although the couple often fought, residents never imagined the disagreements would end in such a tragedy.
Deputy City Resident Commissioner of Makindye Division, Gift Atuheire, condemned the incident, describing it as heartbreaking and urging couples facing marital challenges to seek separation rather than resort to violence.
Police detectives have launched a full investigation into the incident while the three surviving children continue to receive medical care. The tragedy occurred just months after another deadly knife attack in the same Ggaba area in which four toddlers were killed at an early childhood development centre.
