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Uganda: Fire Ravages Migadde College Dormitory
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New Vision (Kampala)
3 July 2008
Posted to the web 4 July 2008
Patrick Jaramogi and Enock Kakande
Kampala
ANOTHER fire burned down a dormitory yesterday, bringing the total number of school fires in the last three months to 29.
The mid-morning fire, which raged for about four hours, burned down a dormitory housing 80 students at Migadde College in Wakiso district. Nobody was hurt.
The school's principal does not rule out foul play. "We can't rule out arson. I strongly suspect arson as the cause," said Joseph Kisubika.
He explained that the fire erupted as soon as he and the deputy had moved out of the school. Deputy head teacher David Butala further clarified that they suspected students who were recently expelled.
"During the Euro-cup final between Spain and Germany some students went overboard, taking advantage of the match to cause chaos," Butala said.
"They were identified by fellow students and after facing the disciplinary committee, they were suspended."
The New Vision team visiting the school was handed a one-page letter in which students demanded the resignation of the principal. "They are harsh and treat us like donkeys," the anonymous letter read.
"We nearly held a strike here on Sunday during the Euro cup final. We wanted to watch the match but the administration denied us the chance and in the confusion four boys were expelled."
However, the head prefect, Stancy Ssempagana, denied any foul play. "We don't suspect arson because the school guards were all present and there was no sign of any intruder entering the school. We were in class doing exams," he said.
He noted that there had been a power surge shortly before the fire broke out. "Power went off and on three times before the computers shut down. Soon afterwards, we heard that fire had erupted in the dormitory. We highly suspect a short circuit."
The Kampala Police fire brigade rushed to the school, located 32km on the Gulu highway, but could not stop the fire which destroyed most of the building and the students' belongings.
Kampala Extra Region Police chief Edward Ochom, who visited the scene, described the incident as unfortunate. "We are going to investigate the cause of the fire."
The Migadde incident comes three days after a fire burned down a dormitory at Seeta High, and less than three months after a fire at Budo Junior killed 20 pupils.
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It also comes a day after internal affairs minister Ruhakana Rugunda assured Parliament that the Government had the capacity to address the problem through the Police and intelligence agencies.
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| Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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