The hearing of a case in which three people are accused of burning the dormitory of St. Bernard Secondary School, Manya in Rakai in 2018 entered its second day on Tuesday, with the state presenting its second witness.
Appearing before Masaka High Court Judge Justice Victoria Nakintu, the former head teacher, Henry Nsubuga, told court that the deadly November 11, 2018 fire occurred when one of the accused persons, Dickson Kisule, was in police custody on charges of criminal trespass.
He said that following the suspension of 11 students for unruly and bullying behaviour, Kisule was found on the school compound without a genuine reason on November 10, 2018.
‘He was found on the school compound when he had been suspended together with other students. When he was asked why he was at school he said he was looking for teachers to help him fill his clearance form. We found it irregular and we decided to take him to a nearby police post, Manya Police Post, where he was held and charged with trespass under ref SD 08/10/11/2018. I can’t tell how he was linked to the fire case,’ Nsubuga said.
He also told court that he still struggles to sleep whenever he thinks about the incident that left 10 students dead and over 11 hospitalized.
‘The arsonist intended to kill all 55 students in the fire since he had locked them in and it was hard to break in to save them,’ he said.
The trio, Henry Taremwa, Alex Mugarura, and Dickson Kisule, face charges of arson, murder, and attempted murder before Justice Victoria Nakintu.
Defense lawyer Sam Ssekyewa told court that several teachers, including the head teacher, recorded statements at the police station following the incident, and those statements carry information that can help the court identify who burnt the dormitory.
Ssekyewa tendered in Nsubuga’s police statement as defense evidence because it ‘carries information that could have led to the burning of the school that led to the death of 10 students.’
‘Some of these documents help tell what was happening at school, including the teachers who were left unhappy with some of the policies introduced, which could have driven the aggrieved parties to sponsor the burning of the school dormitory,’ he said.
The defense also presented video evidence of a man confessing to having participated in the fire.
The case has been adjourned to tomorrow for further hearing.