Another fire at Kawempe Muslim School

By Vision Reporter

A mysterious fire swept through a boys’ dormitory at Kawempe Muslim Secondary School Wednesday evening, the second in just under one week.

The cause of the recent fire had not been established by press time.

Kawempe Police chief, Siraj Bakireke had reported that the extent of the damage by the fire was not known yet.

The first fire gutted a girl’s dormitory last Sunday evening, leading to the arrest of three students to assist in investigations.

Property worth millions of shillings went down to ashes in the Sunday inferno, although no student or staff member was injured.

The incident had occurred just two days after the suspension of some 300 students by the school administration over their involvement in a strike.

Wednesday’s fire came at a time when the school was healing from the devastating effects of the first.

At the time, investigations were still inconclusive, although there had emerged mounting suspicions that some of the suspended students were behind the fire.

Education standards director, Abdullah Mutazindwa accused the school administrators of laxity, saying they should have taken more precaution after the Sunday fire.

Police suspicions still point to a group among the suspended students.

'Poor diet and sanitation'

It is exactly one week today since 300 Senior Five and Senior Six students were suspended from the school for inciting a strike over what the students had termed “poor diet and sanitation”.

Each is expected to report back to school after their one-week suspension with sh50,000 meant for damage repairs.

Two students, Kawuzi Suleiman and Adam Buleya, both in Senior Six were immediately arrested by police, but were later released following interrogations.

Dormitories, fire extinguishers and notice board glasses were destroyed during the strike.

The aggrieved students had said they were fed on half-cooked posho (maize meal) and that the saucepans used for cooking are not properly washed.

They had also raised other issues.

“We have only eight toilets which are not enough for all of us and over 2000 students use them. We tried to raise our issues but none of the administrators felt concerned,” one complained.

The students had said that their teachers don't listen to their issues and instead end up suspending or expelling them unnecessarily.

Students also said that Dr. Ddumba Hassan, the disciplinary teacher, had caused the strike because he "expels more than six students every week".

Police had clashed with the striking students during the melee, firing teargas into their dormitories.

Scores of boys were beaten and about 30 girls sustained injuries and later admitted at Kyadondo Medical Centre.

But the school head, Buruhan Mugerwa had played down the cause of the strike.

He had claimed that the boys, unlike the girls, did not want to clean their dormitories, and had added that the students and teachers are fed on the same type of food.