A 13-year-old girl and a man die when lightning strikes in the Kalungu district.

Juliet Lwentale, age 13, and Joseph Jjunju, age 28, were killed by lightning while walking from the village spring well.

Pascal Kayondo, the late Jjunju's father, confirmed what happened and said that Jjunju had gone to the well to clean a sprayer he had used to kill weeds in their garden.Lwentale was out getting water when it started to rain, so he hurried to get home. The two people died right away, and people in the area found their bodies.

"As it started to rain, they ran home from a well. Jjunju had taken the weed-killing machine to be cleaned after using it to kill weeds in the garden, and the younger boy had gone to get water. It was sad that they both died right there, "Kayondo said.

Godfrey Wasajja, the vice chairperson of Kyamulibwa Sub County, said that the thinning plant cover in the area was caused by stricter rules on cutting down trees in the district. He said that these kinds of things used to happen less often because lightning used to hit trees instead of people, but that has changed as the forest cover has been lost.

"People have always been told not to cut down trees, but they haven't listened. This should wake us all up, and if you can afford it, you should put lightning arresters on your house "he said. The World Meteorological Organization says that Uganda has one of the most lightning-related deaths, especially during the rainy season.