NTUNGAMO, Uganda — Five months after three brothers were found abandoned in a house in Kahunga Zone B, official reports released this week portray a precarious recovery marked by legal limbo, fragmented care and signs of emotional trauma.
While authorities averted immediate physical danger when they intervened in late 2025, the children remain without a permanent or legally recognized home. Police records indicate that the siblings, aged 11, 9 and 8, lived alone for five days before a neighbor alerted local council authorities.
The initial response placed the children under temporary care through a directive from the local council. However, officials confirmed the siblings are currently split among different households in an informal arrangement.
These are temporary measures, said the chairman of the Kahunga Zone B local council.
The instability has spilled into the classroom. Records from the children’s school show they missed a week of classes immediately following the abandonment. Since then, the 9-year-old has continued to struggle with attendance, accumulating several week-long absences. School administrators, noting signs of emotional withdrawal and inconsistent engagement, have recommended professional psychosocial support.
Welfare officers who have monitored the siblings reported symptoms consistent with trauma, including separation anxiety. In a conversation with one of the boys, the child expressed deep emotional turmoil over the separation from his parents and brothers. He shared his struggles with sleepless nights, stating, Sometimes my eyes keep wide open in the night.
The boy revealed that he often misses his brothers and feels anxious about their well-being. He also conveyed a longing for his mother, saying in Runyankole, I wish my mother could come to us. Overwhelmed by emotion, he broke down in tears, highlighting the exhaustion he feels from the weight of worry and isolation.
Community experts warned that the long-term effects of this isolation and subsequent separation from one another could be profound without structured intervention.
The search for the parents continues. Police are still attempting to locate the father, Swalik Kiggundu, and the mother, Pretty Sylivia Murungi. Formal tracing notices have been issued to local networks and known associates, but investigators said they have not yet reached any criminal conclusions.
The local council is now appealing to child protection organizations and mental health practitioners to move beyond emergency relief. The chairman argued that the situation is not resolved simply because the children are no longer alone, appealing to anyone with information on the parents’ whereabouts to come forward for the sake of the children’s health and long-term security.
