Kampala — At the time the fire broke out at 9pm, Budo Junior School's deputy head teacher Moses Sewalu was at his residence.

"On coming out, I saw a huge fire. It had engulfed the Nassolo dorm," he said tearfully. "A lot of noise from shaken and desperate pupils was coming from inside the dorm.

I was terribly shocked," he said frantic efforts were made to break the dormitory door.

Ms Atwooki Kawamara, an aunt to Nakavuma Judith, P4W, who died in the inferno said she learnt of her niece's death on phone at around midnight.

"I was shocked, she was going to spend the first term holiday with me," she said.

The retired Bishop of Luweero Diocese Misusera Bugimbi prayed for the souls of the deceased urging relatives and parents to take heart.

"It is God who gives and it's Him who takes away," he prayed.

Parliament yesterday mourned the 20 fallen pupils.

The MPs in yesterday's plenary session observed a minute of silence to honour the dead. The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Ssekandi, who chaired the afternoon session urged members to pray for the bereaved families.

"I visited the school premises this morning but the sight is heartbreaking," he said. "All the 20 pupils and two strangers were burnt beyond recognition. We need to pray for their families," he said.

Mr Fred Ntulume, a senior orthopaedic officer of Butabika Hospital, told Daily Monitor that his daughter, Rodha Ntulume, one of the survivors, had told him that she was deep asleep and only found herself outside Nassolo dormitory when she woke up.

Mr Theophil Rutagarama, a parent of one of the surviving children called Patience Uwera, told Daily Monitor that he was still celebrating at midday yesterday for having found his daughter alive.

"Imagine looking at charred bodies when your child who was in the same place is still alive. God still loves us!"

Ms Jacqueline Bakoba, another parent who was searching for her missing child in the debris was overhead crying: "Help me, oh God please help me".

"I just want to know where my child is to be buried. Be it a mass grave or wherever, I at least want to know," lamented a male grieving parent whom Daily Monitor could not identify.

MP Rose Sseninde said it is high time authorities established the cause of fires in schools. "Many schools are going up in flames of late. We need to be told why," she said.

"Like Budo, if they are telling us it was not power, then what was it? This is a big problem and we want to hear what is happening!"

She also said the dormitories seemed so small and congested, and that it was wrong for the children to be locked in.

"It was extremely difficult for the children to be evacuated when the door leading to the ward had been locked inside. These would have been leaders of tomorrow. As a mother I share my grief with those parents," she said.

Another legislator, Susan Nakawuki Matovu said, "It's really absurd that such a catastrophe befell a school."

Wakiso District Chairman Ian Kyeyune asked that his district should be given a city status, so that it can have the capacity to assist the many schools there.

"Most of these top schools are in our district, but we are still treated like a rural district," he said. "We need a City status so we can offer urban management of affairs."

He said the school needs urgent support because it is one of the few schools which still have very old structures and asbestos sheets on its buildings.

Police Chief, Kale Kayihura said schools need escape routes in cases of danger. He also said there is need for general sensitisation about fire to be done jointly by the government, police and the schools.

"We also need to arrange and take some of these schools through fire drills periodically," he said.

State Education Minister (Primary), Peter Lokeris, said the government was working around the clock to establish the cause of fire.

"We've been sitting here the whole day but we've not yet established the cause. This is a great school to suffer this kind of tragedy.

Budo has trained so many important individuals in this country," he said.

The Democratic Party mourned the tragic death of pupils saying it was a big loss to the country.

Speaking to journalists at the party headquarters in Kampala yesterday DP President John Ssebaana Kizito urged the government to put in place stringent measures to avoid such infernos in schools.

"We are very sad about the fire at Budo Junior School that killed twenty pupils. We send our condolences to the parents of the deceased pupils," Mr Ssebaana said.