A young couple in Alebtong district narrowly escaped death after a lightning strike hit their home and destroyed all their property.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday, September 13, 2026, at around 10:00 pm, has left the local community in shock.

The victims, 19-year-old Okullu Solomon and his wife Akello Gloria, were sleeping when the lightning struck their house in Olao Longo village, Olao Longo parish, Apala sub-county.

The strike sparked a fire that quickly engulfed the house. While the couple managed to escape with their lives, all their belongings were lost in the blaze.

Following the incident, Moroto County Member of Parliament, Leo Elem, visited the family and offered his support.

The MP also met with the community to encourage the young couple to have faith, reminding them that the most important thing is that their lives were spared, even though they have lost everything.

Elem announced that he has already forwarded the incident to the Office of the Prime Minister. He requested that the government include this family in its food relief donations to the Lango sub-region.

“I want to assure you that we, as leaders from the Lango sub-region, are working together without division or segregation to ensure that our people benefit from government programs,” Elem stated.

Additionally, the MP promised to begin holding regular barazas (community meetings) to allow locals to share their challenges with their leaders, noting that Parliament has given all MPs three weeks to return to the grassroots level to monitor how government programs are working, citing this incident as a “national disaster.”

Local leaders also expressed their shock. Jimmy Ongom, the vice chairperson of Olao Longo village, confirmed the incident, stating, “It is true that this incident happened in my area. In our history, this is the first time lightning has struck a house and caused a fire.

“As local leaders, we were very surprised by what happened, and we call upon everyone to follow the will of God.”

Felix Odongo, the LC3 chairperson of Apala sub-county, suggested the incident might be a sign of deeper issues. He noted that Apala has high rates of domestic misconduct and urged people to believe in God and avoid harmful speech.

“This is a bad sign for lightning to strike a young person’s house and cause a fire; it means there is a problem somewhere,” Odongo said.

He appealed to parents to show love to their children and for children to respect their parents, urging families to address the issues they are facing.

Speaking about his ordeal, the survivor, Solomon Okullu, recounted the events of that night. He said he was on his way home from watching a Manchester United football match when it started to rain.

He rushed home to avoid getting wet, but immediately upon arrival, lightning struck the house, setting it on fire.

Okullu and his wife, Akao, were not burned as they tried to save some of their belongings, but they were unable to salvage anything from the fire.