Parents protest delay to release bodies of children
Apr 16, 2008
Grief-stricken parents turned angry when Mulago Hospital mortuary delayed to release the remains of the children killed in a fire in the dormitory at Budo Primary School on Monday night.
By Herbert Ssempogo and Steven Candia
Grief-stricken parents turned angry when Mulago Hospital mortuary delayed to release the remains of the children killed in a fire in the dormitory at Budo Primary School on Monday night.
The mortuary authorities held onto the bodies for testing to ensure that the parents got the right ones.
Police chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura hoped the bodies would be handed over to the parents on Sunday or Monday, once the DNA tests had been carried out. “We want to preserve the bodies as the experts proceed with the DNA tests because we want to ensure that each parent gets the correct body. We have talked and agreed with them on that.â€
The bodies were in the afternoon transferred to the Mulago Medical School, which has better storage facilities.
Wrapped in black polythene bags, some bearing name tags, the charred bodies were loaded onto a Police truck, triggering a fresh wave of agony. Some parents broke down and wailed uncontrollably.
Kayihura supervised the exercise and demanded that the truck be thoroughly cleaned before the bodies were loaded.
As this was taking place, rumours spread that former headmaster William Kayongo had been arrested.
“We have not yet started making arrests. Probably they could have taken him to record a statement,†Kayihura said.
Parents at the mortuary said Kayongo was led away by a policeman. For the second day running, the Police interrogated and and recorded statements from pupils and members of staff over the incident.
The body of Evelyn Zawedde, who died of severe burns at the hospital, was handed over to the family. Forty samples of parents and 20 of the dead children, were being analysed, said the head of the Government Analytical laboratory, Mohammed Lugudo.
“It is a chain reaction that involves several steps. However, we will try to make it as short as possible.â€
Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba and the homicide chief, Paul Kato, asked the bereaved families to be patient.
“We don’t want a situation where people claim bodies that have been buried by another family.†But parents, who claimed they had incurred costs on burial arrangements, demanded the immediate release of the bodies.
The most enraged were the relatives of the seven girls, who were identified on Tuesday morning by the Police and relatives.
“I identified my daughter the moment I walked into the mortuary because the face was intact,†Salongo Ssozi, the father of Sylvia Nakandi, said.
Juliet Lukunse’s relative, Ali Ssenabulya, said they had scheduled burial yesterday in Kalungu, Masaka.
“Our friends used a lot of money to go to Kalungu. What will we tell them since we have failed to get the body?†a furious Ssenabulya asked.
Grief-stricken parents turned angry when Mulago Hospital mortuary delayed to release the remains of the children killed in a fire in the dormitory at Budo Primary School on Monday night.
The mortuary authorities held onto the bodies for testing to ensure that the parents got the right ones.
Police chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura hoped the bodies would be handed over to the parents on Sunday or Monday, once the DNA tests had been carried out. “We want to preserve the bodies as the experts proceed with the DNA tests because we want to ensure that each parent gets the correct body. We have talked and agreed with them on that.â€
The bodies were in the afternoon transferred to the Mulago Medical School, which has better storage facilities.
Wrapped in black polythene bags, some bearing name tags, the charred bodies were loaded onto a Police truck, triggering a fresh wave of agony. Some parents broke down and wailed uncontrollably.
Kayihura supervised the exercise and demanded that the truck be thoroughly cleaned before the bodies were loaded.
As this was taking place, rumours spread that former headmaster William Kayongo had been arrested.
“We have not yet started making arrests. Probably they could have taken him to record a statement,†Kayihura said.
Parents at the mortuary said Kayongo was led away by a policeman. For the second day running, the Police interrogated and and recorded statements from pupils and members of staff over the incident.
The body of Evelyn Zawedde, who died of severe burns at the hospital, was handed over to the family. Forty samples of parents and 20 of the dead children, were being analysed, said the head of the Government Analytical laboratory, Mohammed Lugudo.
“It is a chain reaction that involves several steps. However, we will try to make it as short as possible.â€
Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba and the homicide chief, Paul Kato, asked the bereaved families to be patient.
“We don’t want a situation where people claim bodies that have been buried by another family.†But parents, who claimed they had incurred costs on burial arrangements, demanded the immediate release of the bodies.
The most enraged were the relatives of the seven girls, who were identified on Tuesday morning by the Police and relatives.
“I identified my daughter the moment I walked into the mortuary because the face was intact,†Salongo Ssozi, the father of Sylvia Nakandi, said.
Juliet Lukunse’s relative, Ali Ssenabulya, said they had scheduled burial yesterday in Kalungu, Masaka.
“Our friends used a lot of money to go to Kalungu. What will we tell them since we have failed to get the body?†a furious Ssenabulya asked.