Student held over school fire

By Waligo Sadati

A student of St. Gonzaga Secondary School was last week arrested and detained at Lyantonde Police Station for allegedly setting ablaze a dormitory recently.

The school was closed after one of the boys’ dormitories caught fire. Police detectives have since been investigating the case.

Property, including valuable documents, money, mattresses, blankets, clothes and books was burnt but no student was injured.

Rogers Asiimwe 19, a Senior Five student, is the primary suspect.

Asiimwe, however, denied the accusations, saying he was in class doing exams when the dormitory caught fire.

Aloysius Mawulugungu, the headmaster of the school, said he was aware of Asiimwe’s detention but that he would not interfere with the investigations.

Thomas Eyaku, the Lyantonde District Police Commander, said they were still looking for other students. Eyaku revealed that they were also investigating claims that some teachers connive with or influence students to commit crime so as to make the headmaster’s work difficult.

Asiimwe’s arrest comes at a time when the Inspector General of Police, Lieutenant Gen. Kale Kaihura, has ordered the Lyantonde Police to investigate and produce a report on the escalating fires in Lyantonde schools.

A total of four arson incidents have occurred within a month in Lyantonde. St. Gonzaga SS was torched twice, Lyantonde SS-Kasambya once and a fuel station called Petro once.

Meanwhile, Maxwell Ogwala, the southern region Police commander, has pitched camp in Lyantonde to help compile a report on the escalating fires.

He said the students could be engaging in such acts due to grievances over suspensions or expulsion of certain students from school.