Health ministry fire origin still a mystery

Health minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng at a press briefing on Friday. Photos Kennedy Oryema

Workers at the health ministry's head offices in Kampala have resumed duty days after a mysterious fire gutted the offices at on Sunday.

The offices were sealed off and declared a crime scene following the incident and an investigation is underway to determine its cause.

Health minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng announced at a briefing on Friday that operations at the ministry had since resumed as forensic experts probe the origin of the fire.

Plumes of smoke filled the air at 2:00pm on Sunday as part of Wing B on the third floor of the health ministry's headquarters along Lourdel Road went up in flames.

The Minister of Health Jane Ruth Aceng (right) talks to the Public Relations Officer Vivian Serwanjja(centre) while Permanent Secretary Diana Atwine looks on, during a press conference about the fire that gutted sections of the ministry, at the Ministry of Health in Wandegeya, January 13, 2017.

 
Two of the five offices are in the department of quality assurance, one in the department of child health, one in the department of reproductive health and another in health education and promotion.

"We would like to inform the public that the origin and cause of the fire is still under investigation by a fully competent multi-sectoral team of experts," Aceng stated.

According to the minister, preliminary findings by the Police investigation rule out the possibility that the fire emerged from the kitchen, contrary to early speculation.

 "The possibility of a power short circuit has also been ruled out as all circuit breakers were found intact at the time the Police fire fighters put out the blaze," she revealed.

The current line of investigation being pursued by experts is that the fire might have started from the office of Quality Assurance.

Although several staff recorded statements in the wake of the incident, none of them has been named nor charged as a suspect in connection with the fire.

Workers from the offices affected by the fire have been temporarily relocated within the building as engineers from the ministry of works and transport assess the damage.

"The public is hereby notified that the services at the ministry of health are continuing normally, without interruption," Aceng said.

The health ministry's permanent secretary, Dr Diana Atwine said assessment of the damage caused by the fire to the offices was underway before renovation starts.

Atwine disclosed that computers, printers and furniture were destroyed but some important files have since been recovered.

On Friday, the minister held a meeting with staff to discuss some of the changes and work environment at the ministry.

Even though the source of the fire remains a mystery, the ministry has stepped up checks at the entrance and will henceforth re-register staff and back up CCTV surveillance, vowed Aceng.