Students at Welden School in Mbarara Municipality last night turned unruly and burnt down one of the boys’ dormitory following a tribal conflict in the school.
The Police fire brigade unit from Mbarara police station was called in the night to put out the flames but was unable to save most of the student’s belongings which were burnt to ashes.
Kampala dormitory which was set ablaze
By the time Chimpreports arrived at the school on Monday morning, smoke was still billowing from the burning dormitory and broken glass littered at the school.
The administration decided to close the school and sent all students back home.
One of the students at the school told us that the students have been recently involved in tribal based clashes.
The student who preferred anonymity says the Bahima students together with those from neighboring Rwanda have been working together to undermine the other students.
All students have since been sent home
He said a strike has been simmering on these grounds for weeks. The school administration was informed about this concern but did not make any significant intervention.
Contacted on this matter however, the school director, Elias Sempa, told Chimpreports that he could not conclusively link the fire to these allegations, adding that investigations have just commenced.
About Shs 50million worth of students property was destroyed in the fire
“We have been forced this morning to send all the students home so that we get time and space to investigate the cause of the fire because our students have been calm,” he said.
The director says that fire was started by a group of students at around 8:30pm when the others were in the TV room watching football.
The dormitory which was set ablaze, he said, was housing up to 320 students.
Police monitoring the situation at the school
He added that police was called in to save the structure but they were not quick enough, and that the entire building was razed down.
Out of fear, all the students in the other dorms spent the night outside.
Sempa estimates that property worth about 50million shilling went up in flames.