No Politics In UNEB Fire, Say Police

By Davis Weddi The Police have ruled out any political motive in the Sunday afternoon fire that gutted Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) stores at Martyrs Way in Ntinda, a Kampala suburb. "There is no politics connected to this fire. It was started by children playing in the neighbourhood," said Mr. Moses Otwili, the divisional CID chief, Kira Road Police station. Otwili yesterday said two people, who he did not name, had been taken to Kira Road Police station for questioning, but he expected them to be released before 6:00pm yesterday. Otwili said one of them was the grandmother of three children believed to have started the fire, which destroyed past papers and examination scripts. "We learnt that there was a small fire at a nearby rubbish pit, but the children say they went and played with it and even took some to this block which was gutted," Otwili told The New Vision. He said the children said they ran away on realising that the fire had intensified and the Police had been called in to stop it from spreading. The burnt premises on Plot 38/39 Martyrs Way were rented by UNEB from a Kampala businessman, Mr. Edward Kiwanuka. The Police, however, said they would continue with investigations. Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission resumed normal business on Sunday evening, after Uganda Electricity Board technicians replaced cables that got burnt in a short circuit that paralysed work for a few hours. Commission spokesman Dick Kizito said the disruption was minimal and the data was not affected. Police said the fire was accidental. Ends