Budo fire kills 19 By Raymond Baguma and Conan Businge
NINETEEN children aged between eight and nine, have been confirmed dead following a Monday night inferno at Budo Junior School in Wakiso district.
The body of an unidentified male adult was also recovered at the scene.
The Police said the unidentified man could have been “a rescuer or one of the attackers.” Investigations are still on, to establish his identity. Earlier reports indicated that there were two strange bodies in the dormitory, but the Police later confirmed that it was only one.
The school administration said the dead man was not part of their staff.
The dead pupils, (all girls) occupied Nassolo dormitory, which was previously a classroom.
The dead include Sonia Tendo, Evelyn Zawedde, Mercy Akite, Latiffa Namuleme, Patience Namuyanja, Patricia Nakaye, Sylvia Nakandi, Juliet Lunkuse, Samantha Ntunda, Joan Nabbosa, Juliet Nambalirwa and Mariam Nakato.
Others were Judith Nakavuma, Barbara Natugonza, Patience Namakoye, Patricia Nakazi, Faith Asiimwe, Evina Nalwoga and Yvonne Namaganda.
Meanwhile, the school has been closed prematurely, ahead of the holidays, due on April 25.
The headmaster, Dr. Livingstone Ddungu, said Nassolo dormitory accommodates 45 girls of Primary Four. The school had 1,350 pupils.
The Police Fire Brigade put out the fire, which had threatened to spread to Ssabaganzi and Ssangalyambogo dormitories.
Nassolo dormitory had two doors, but only one was in use. It had no emergency exit.
Wails and groans rent the air at the school, as the parents picked their children.
One man, upon confirming the death of his daughter, wept. Police constables rushed to console him.
At the scene, in front of the dormitory, basins, beddings, metallic trunks, sandals and shoes lay strewn in the grass.
The asbestos roofing had caved in and the burnt wooden doors were smouldering.
Betty Kigozi, a bereaved parent, said she had promised to pick her twin daughters on Friday, since they had finished their examinations.
However, Nakato died in the fire.
A survivor, Sheila Nanyonjo, said: “We were asleep when the fire started. Jackie Nakibule woke me up, but I refused. She then slapped and pinched me and I jumped from my bed and went out.
“Other pupils thought that it was a lie because we had just gone to bed. So, they slept on and they were burnt. There was no power and we did not attend evening preps.”
Sharon Kanyunyuzi, another survivor, said: “We were not allowed to to use lanterns or candles, save for torches.”
According to Ddungu, the fire broke out a few minutes to 10:00pm.
He said the cause could not have been a power surge, since the school had experienced a power blackout for about four days.
He said the generator was only lighting the dining hall and some dorms, excluding Nassolo, Nnalinya and Colad.
The Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen Kale Kayihura, toured the scene yesterday and expressed bitterness.
“This is criminality. How do you convert a classroom into a dormitory?” Kayihura asked.
“This is murder. Children are so congested like soya-beans. Are there no standards for constructing modern dormitories in this country?”
