Three students arrested over Kawempe Muslim SS fire

By Norah Mutesi

Three students are in Police detention over a fire that gutted a girls’ dormitory at Kawempe Muslim SS Sunday evening.

The fire, that destroyed millions of shillings in property, came two days after the suspension of students last Thursday from school for spearheading a strike.

Sources at Kawempe Police said that nothing is conclusive yet, but they had arrested the students to assist with investigations.

Rashida Nakitto, a matron, said on Saturday a form two student, Sonia Mulindwa, had told her that she was sick and decided to stay in the dormitory while all her friends had moved out for prayers.

After a few minutes, she said, she saw smoke spewing from one of the girls’ bathrooms and that when she rushed to check it out, she found a piece of cloth that was soaked in paraffin tied to a piece of wood and was burning.

“I saw smoke from the bathroom and when I went to see where fire was coming from, I found a cloth soaked in paraffin tied to a piece of wood and it was on fire, then I alerted security men and the administration,” Nakitto said.

She said that when she further checked in the dormitory where Sonia had been sleeping she saw paraffin under the bed where she had been resting and alerted security.

A security guard, Nulu Nantumbwe, said that on Sunday at around 2:00pm she too saw Sonia with one of the boys who had been suspended from school and took the two students to the disciplinary teacher.

Later in the evening she saw the dormitory on fire. None of the students was injured in the fire.