Primary school pupil charged with arson

By JOB BWIRE

A thirteen-year-old boy has been charged in court for burning his neighbor’s house.

The suspect, a primary six pupil of East Kolo primary school was Tuesday arraigned before Buganda road chief magistrate’s court and charged with arson. He pleaded not guilty.

Prosecution led by state attorney, Peace Biira alleges that on April 12, the boy (names withheld) set fire on the house belonging to his neighbor, Charles Mukendi, a Congolese national and tailor in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb.

While testifying before Buganda road court presided over by the chief magistrate, Olive Kezaarwe, Mukendi said that the accused burnt his matrimonial house, following a misunderstanding between Mukendi and the boy’s family over a dead duck.

 “A few days to the incident, the boy’s mother, Nakato found her duck drowned in a nearby pond and accused my son of killing it. She threatened to harm me but I reported the matter to the area LCI who called for a family meeting,” Mukendi said.

“The meeting had been scheduled on the fateful day,” he added.

He added that on the fateful day, he and his wife were at work when he received a call from his eldest son that the accused had entered his (Mukendi’s) rented house with a matchbox and set it on fire. On rushing home, he found his single roomed house with everything in it burnt to ashes and reported the matter at Kyebando police station.

The CID police at Kyebando police carried out an investigation, consequently leading to the arrest of the suspect. He was detained at Naguru Remand Home and later released on police bond.

The case was registered at Kyebando police Station under file CID No. 19/12/4/2013 and No.24/12/4/2013.

Mukendi claims most of his house hold items including food, clothes and $1, 000 were among the items that perished in the fire. He is seeking compensation of sh5m in costs and damages.

The boy’s father however, says he will repair the house but will not compensate Mukendi since there is no witness to give evidence that the value of house hold items amount to the claim.

Kezaarwe advised the parties to settle their differences out of court and come to an amicable understanding before she adjourned the matter to October 1 for further hearing.