Mukono school fire: Four admitted to Kiruddu in critical condition

Four children from Salama School for the Blind in Mukono District have been admitted to Kiruddu National Referral Hospital in critical condition.

They include Annet Namawejje (P1), Damalie Naluggwa (P3), Blessings Namuyomba (P1), and Doucas Nabyangu Uwika (P6).

Ms Gladys Kizza, a teacher at the school, who has been following up the admitted pupils, said the victims were first admitted to Herona Hospital in Mukono but when their condition worsened, they were referred to Kiruddu for better management.

“I have reached out to their parents and some are already here. The situation is not good but the doctors are doing a great job, we pray to God so that they recover well,” she said.

Ms Margaret Nakato Owesoroti, a caretaker from Mantellante Sisters in Kisoga, an organisation headquartered in Italy, and takes care of vulnerable children, especially those with disabilities, said when she heard the news about the fire, she rushed to the school as one of their beneficiary, Damalie Naluggwa, is a pupil at the school.

“I found that Naluggwa was among those who were injured. I followed the ambulance to Herona Hospital, where they received their first treatment and later we were brought them here (Kiruddu) when the condition worsened,” she said. 

She added: “It is unfortunate that Naluggwa lost her mother and I thought no one was going to take care of her. I decided to come and help.”

Naluggwa’s father, Mr Fred Ssekasamba, a resident of Nakanyonyi, Mukono District, said the news of fire at his daughter’s school reminded him of how his daughter got blind.

“My daughter has never experienced a happy life, her mother died while giving birth to her in 2011. I have been struggling to raise her. Unfortunately, in 2014, during a government operation to demolish buildings along the railway line in Mbuya, a tear gas canister was thrown into our house and it exploded,” Mr Ssekasamba narrated.

He added: “We ran out of the house but the situation was worse. The house was brought down and the dust also went into my daughters eyes. I took her to Ruharo Mission Hospital in Mbarara, where it was declared that she had lost her sight.” 

Mr Ssekasamba further added that after demolishing his house, he lived on the streets with his four children for one month before he later later built a temporary house in Mbuya, where he lived until 2020 when he went back to his ancestral home in Nakanyonyi, Mukono District.

“I tried to follow up on our compensation but in vain. I request the government to look into our issue,” he added.