St Joseph Senior Secondary-Nakanyonyi, a private school in Jinja city lost a Senior One student and property worth unspecified millions of shillings.
Emmanuel Muwumba, 14, succumbed to the ruthless flames that gutted Kizito House, the dormitory which he shared with other 35 students, two hours after he returned from home where he had gone for treatment.
According to Mr. Emmanuel Bagimba, the headmaster of the school, the incident transpired when most of the students were engaged in sports.
“Being a public holiday [Women’s Day], most of the students at that time were engaged in sports, but three [students] remained in the dormitory, including the deceased,” he said.
“The deceased returned from home at around 4:30pm and by 6:30pm, he was dead“, he added.
Mr Bagimba, noted that the fire outbreak was reported by a girl who raised an alarm that drew several students and teachers to the scene.
Reportedly, the deceased was caught up in flames when he decided to get dressed first before escaping the flames.
“Two of his colleagues managed to escape from the dormitory, but unfortunately, because he feared to run out naked and opted to first get dressed, he didn’t survive,” said Mr Bagimba.
While the Kiira region police spokesman, Mr James Mubi, said detectives are investigating to ascertain the cause of the fire, Mr Bagimba alleges it was an act of arson from competitors he didn’t name.
“The competitors are concerned by the school’s meteoric rise in enrolment and performance,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Bagimba has spoken to the bereaved parents and agreed to fully cover his burial expenses among other costs.
Temporary closure.
The school has temporarily been closed up to March 20, and the students will be redistributed among other dormitories upon reopening
According to Mr Bagimba, the closure is to allow the students to process the tragedy since some of them, especially the girls, fainted although they have since recuperated.
As described by fellow pupils, the deceased was “humble, quiet and God-fearing”. Clearly, the impact of his demise cannot be undermined.
By the time of filing this story, plans were underway to bury the deceased at his ancestral home in Budima Village in Iganga district.
At least six schools have caught fire since reopening of education institutions on January 10.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, Dr Denis Mugimba, said of the six schools [that caught fire], five are private, with investigations indicating that the majority of the affected schools are privately-owned and lack occupational permits.
Dr Mugimba said only 36 percent of private schools across the country possess the permits.
In 2008, the ministry in conjunction with police issued a circular with a list of guidelines on how schools could address school fires and ensure safety and security of learners.
The guidelines included having emergency exits, security committees, firefighting equipment, and sickbays. Many of these, however, have not been implemented yet.