Fire guts Mukono school
Jun 23, 2009
FIRE on Monday night gutted three dormitories of Hilton High School in Mukono district destroying student’s property worth millions of shillings.
By Joel Ogwang
FIRE on Monday night gutted three dormitories of Hilton High School in Mukono district destroying student’s property worth millions of shillings.
According to Paul Wadega, the head teacher, the 9:00pm fire started in Mexico dormitory that housed 30 Senior Five students before spreading to the USA and Canada dormitories.
“The students were attending evening revision when the fire started, but they rushed out to try and put it out,†he said.
Ronald Yiga, a Senior Five student, cried after he discovered he had lost his property in the fire. “Teri kinnumye nga notes zenakakopa (It hurts that I lost notes I had just copied),†he said.
Seventy students lost property. “Only ten students recovered their property,†said Wadega.
“The fire brigade arrived at 10:00pm when the students had almost put out the fire. The victims shared beds with their colleagues until morning. We are in touch with their parents because we are sending them home,†the head teacher said.
Lessons were suspended for the day as the students, teachers and parents pondered their next move.
Mexico, USA and Canada dormitories, all connected with electricity, are part of the first blocks that were constructed at the school.
This is the second fire in the the school which has 820 students.
The first fire gutted a girls’ dormitory, housing Senior Four students, in 2006.
Moses Byabagya, the Mukono Police CID chief, would not rule out foul play. “Since there was electricity, there could have been a short circuit or somebody could have done something,†he said.
No suspects had been arrested by press time.
In the confusion, about 100 students beat up Henry Nsubuga, a freelance reporter with Bukedde, a sister newspaper of The New Vision, whom they suspected of being the arsonist.
Nsubuga had dashed to the school at about 10:20 pm as the students tried to put out the fire.
As he took photos of the burning dormitories, the students attacked and injured him.
Nsubuga was saved by the Mukono Police officer-in-charge of operations, Robert Walugembe, who fired into the air and scared off the charged students.
His mobile phone and camera were still missing by press time.
FIRE on Monday night gutted three dormitories of Hilton High School in Mukono district destroying student’s property worth millions of shillings.
According to Paul Wadega, the head teacher, the 9:00pm fire started in Mexico dormitory that housed 30 Senior Five students before spreading to the USA and Canada dormitories.
“The students were attending evening revision when the fire started, but they rushed out to try and put it out,†he said.
Ronald Yiga, a Senior Five student, cried after he discovered he had lost his property in the fire. “Teri kinnumye nga notes zenakakopa (It hurts that I lost notes I had just copied),†he said.
Seventy students lost property. “Only ten students recovered their property,†said Wadega.
“The fire brigade arrived at 10:00pm when the students had almost put out the fire. The victims shared beds with their colleagues until morning. We are in touch with their parents because we are sending them home,†the head teacher said.
Lessons were suspended for the day as the students, teachers and parents pondered their next move.
Mexico, USA and Canada dormitories, all connected with electricity, are part of the first blocks that were constructed at the school.
This is the second fire in the the school which has 820 students.
The first fire gutted a girls’ dormitory, housing Senior Four students, in 2006.
Moses Byabagya, the Mukono Police CID chief, would not rule out foul play. “Since there was electricity, there could have been a short circuit or somebody could have done something,†he said.
No suspects had been arrested by press time.
In the confusion, about 100 students beat up Henry Nsubuga, a freelance reporter with Bukedde, a sister newspaper of The New Vision, whom they suspected of being the arsonist.
Nsubuga had dashed to the school at about 10:20 pm as the students tried to put out the fire.
As he took photos of the burning dormitories, the students attacked and injured him.
Nsubuga was saved by the Mukono Police officer-in-charge of operations, Robert Walugembe, who fired into the air and scared off the charged students.
His mobile phone and camera were still missing by press time.