Adjumani’s Forukwa village – where mysterious deaths are now too much

Residents of Forukwa village in Okangali Parish, Ciforo sub-county in Adjumani district have raised serious concerns over the continuous and unexplained deaths occurring along the river banks.

Several people have drowned under unclear circumstances over the past four years.

According to Eberu Francis, one of the local leaders described the incidents as “unnecessary disappearance of innocent souls in the name of death.” The incidents, he said, have caused intense fear and panic among families.

Many of the victims reportedly died while bathing at the river, a situation that locals say has become too frequent to be considered normal.

“The OC, we have issues of witchcraft in our village here and the current one they are using is different from the previous one. Our sons are drowning in the river and even sometimes you hit yourself on a stone like this, in the evening you are gone which is really a bad situation for us parents,” Eberu explained.

Some residents also expressed suspicion towards one of the village youths whom they believe may be connected to the repeated death occurrences. They claim the pattern of the deaths raises questions that need urgent intervention from authorities.

Komaa Susan, whose daughter was touched by one of the boys who claimed that he had touched her with a love portion, expressed frustration over the future of her daughter.

“It’s really very bad for us mothers because even right now, my daughter is a victim of this and I don’t know what this is for her,” Komaa said.

Echoing similar concern, the LC1 chairman Drani Bosco who noted, for the past four years, the occurrence of mysterious deaths there was too much.

He further stressed that last week one of the youth travelled to Dufile sub-county and came back with another mysterious behaviour which they suspected him to have come back poisoned.

“It has now taken four years. We are losing youths, elderly people strangely. Sometimes, they will enter the river themselves and the next hour you see their dead body. That’s the reason why we called this village meeting (today) so that we can vote out those people but accidentally the suspects are still at church for some counselling,” said the LC1 chairman.

The community has now appealed to sub-county stakeholders to intervene and investigate the matter thoroughly before more lives are lost.

Responding to the residents’ concerns, the OC Ciforo Police Post, Barigo Charles urged the community to remain calm and follow the right procedures in handling the matter.

“For us as police, we rely on evidence. So, if such an allegation is there, I am appealing to the community to come and report to police so that we bring this person in and investigate,” he stated.

He added that rushing to conclusions without facts can cause harm and may lead to wrongful accusations.

“Sometimes people talk based on rumours, and even issues like poison or witchcraft may not be factual. At times people allege such things because of personal misunderstandings. So, I appeal to the community not to take the law into their own hands.”

The OC encouraged residents to share any credible information with the police to support proper investigations, emphasising that only through lawful channels can the truth be established and lasting safety restored in Forukwa village.