On Thursday 13th March 2008, at around 4.30pm, a tragedy happened in Pece Stadium when lightening killed two children and left 35 others seriously injured, during an afternoon downpour. The injured were immediately taken to Gulu Independent Hospital, where they are still hospitalized. The dead were buried in their respective ancestral homes on Saturday 15th March 2008.
Pece Stadium is approximately 20 metres away from SOS Children’s Village Gulu. The tragedy struck when children from over 10 Primary Schools in Gulu municipality were participating in the annual Inter-Primary Athletics Competitions. About 10 SOS children, participating in athletics in their respective schools, narrowly escaped.
The day started normally but later in the early afternoon, clouds started forming. This was followed by a
heavy downpour, after a long period of dry season. The rainfall was characterized by lightening and thunder. The first time it struck, everybody in our project became uneasy because of the scary sound it made, comparable to nothing else. Two minutes later, it struck again and again. Everyone was in total confusion but having nowhere to run for rescue. We fidgeted to switch off our office equipment and electricity. When it stopped raining, news about the death of two children spread in Gulu. 
Stories started unfolding about other similar incidents in which people died in Pece Stadium. Sometime back in the 1970s, the then President, Idi Amin, narrowly escaped death when lightening struck someone not far from where he was seated. Another time a big snake fell from a tree and consequently a lady died in a stampede, when people were running away for their lives. Local people reportedly associate those tragedies with some evil spirit that roams in Pece Stadium. Stories are many but it all reminds us of one thing: installing lightening arrestors in lightening prone areas to prevent such tragic happenings
Today the 17th March 2008, a requiem service was organized by the Gulu district authorities in which religious leaders, local leaders and over 15 schools participated to pray for the deceased children. .
Pece Stadium is approximately 20 metres away from SOS Children’s Village Gulu. The tragedy struck when children from over 10 Primary Schools in Gulu municipality were participating in the annual Inter-Primary Athletics Competitions. About 10 SOS children, participating in athletics in their respective schools, narrowly escaped.
The day started normally but later in the early afternoon, clouds started forming. This was followed by a
heavy downpour, after a long period of dry season. The rainfall was characterized by lightening and thunder. The first time it struck, everybody in our project became uneasy because of the scary sound it made, comparable to nothing else. Two minutes later, it struck again and again. Everyone was in total confusion but having nowhere to run for rescue. We fidgeted to switch off our office equipment and electricity. When it stopped raining, news about the death of two children spread in Gulu. 
Stories started unfolding about other similar incidents in which people died in Pece Stadium. Sometime back in the 1970s, the then President, Idi Amin, narrowly escaped death when lightening struck someone not far from where he was seated. Another time a big snake fell from a tree and consequently a lady died in a stampede, when people were running away for their lives. Local people reportedly associate those tragedies with some evil spirit that roams in Pece Stadium. Stories are many but it all reminds us of one thing: installing lightening arrestors in lightening prone areas to prevent such tragic happenings
Today the 17th March 2008, a requiem service was organized by the Gulu district authorities in which religious leaders, local leaders and over 15 schools participated to pray for the deceased children. .
1 comments:
tis indeed true that people associate tragidy such as this one to something similar in the past . tis also human nature to automatically do so. a friend of mine who was recently in SOS Gulu told me of this sad incidence.may the young souls rest in perfect peace.
plz do keep us updated
a friend and daughter of SOS
REGIUS ASIIMWE
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