Rakai school fire was act of arson, says govt analyst
Suspects in the case of the St Benard SS, Mannya school fire are seen in the dock at Masaka High Court on March 7, 2024. PHOTO/MALIK FAHAD JJINGO
What you need to know:
- The state also tendered in a report made by the government lab about their findings which they intend to use as evidence.
The first state witness in a Rakai District school fire that killed 10 students and left about 36 others injured has told court that the fire that gutted the institution’s dormitory was a result of arson not an electric short circuit.
Appearing before Masaka High Court Judge Victoria Nakintu Katamba, first state witness in the case, who is the principal government analyst, Steven Samuel Kibuuka, told court that the probable cause of the fire that erased dormitory of St Bernard’s Secondary School, Mannya was started by unknown persons using petrol.
Kibuuka, who is attached to the Directorate of Government Analytical Laboratory (DGAL), told court that his team was dispatched to the scene to find out the origin and cause of the fire.
“It was observed that someone introduced fire in one of the dormitories, destroying everything. We examined the debris collected from the burnt dormitories and discovered traces of hydrocarbon which showed petrol could have been used to start the fire,” he explained.
On Friday, Kibuuka further told court that they discovered that a glass window on one of the dormitories had been broken and this was where the bottle that contained the liquid which was used to start the fire was passed.
“One of the victims (Rashid Bbosa) told us that he tried to wake up other students to try to flee the burning dormitory, but they found the doors of the dormitory locked from outside. They tried to look for an alternative route to flee, but the fire had already burnt the biggest part of the dormitory,” he added.
The state also tendered in a report made by the government lab about their findings which they intend to use as evidence.
However, the judge asked Kibuuka to avail court with other coloured pictures taken from the scene after defense lawyer Sam Ssekyewa raised concern that the black and coloured pictures in the report were not clear.
But during cross examination of Kibuuka, he conceded that there was no evidence to rule out the possibility that the fire was caused by a short circuit, an item not given attention when DGAL officials visited the crime scene.
Presiding Judge Nakintu adjourned the case to April 16 at the request of Chief state attorney Noah Kunya who cited need to call other witnesses.
According to the amended charge sheet, three students at the same school and one resident of Maanya Trading Centre are facing 48 counts, including 10 counts of murder, 36 counts of attempted murder, 1 count of arson and 1 count of attempted arson.
Prosecution alleges that the accused persons; Henry Taremwa ,18, a resident of Mannya Trading Centre, Rakai,(A1), Alex Mugarura, 18, a resident of Kihinga Village, Kasaana Sub-county in Sheema District, Dickson Kisuule, 18, a resident of Kifamba Sub-county in Rakai District- all students at the same school plus self-employed 22-year-old Edison Niyo allias Edie, 22, of Manya Trading Centre, and others still at large, on November 11,2018 at St Bernard’s SS killed Remigious Tamale and 9 other students in a school fire.
Meantime, the accused were further remanded to Masaka Central Prison.
