Busia dorm fire: Three record police statements

Police in Busia District have cited a case of suspected arson in the Monday morning fire that gutted the boys’ dormitory at Victory Nursery and Primary School in Busia municipality, leaving four pupils dead and two hospitalized.

The deceased were identified as; James Magero, 11, in Primary Five, John Richard Oburu, 10, in Primary Four, Mahmood Ali in Primary Three, and Odero Makokha in Primary Six.

Bukedi South Region Police spokesperson, Mr Moses Mubi, now says the fire “might have been intentionally started”.

“We have spoken to one of the survivors who narrated to us that he heard something being poured in the dormitory, and all of a sudden, a blast that produced a huge flame went off,” Mr Mugwe said.

He added that whereas police had embarked on preliminary investigations into the cause of the fire that tore through the walls of the dormitory, they would follow various clues, including investigating suspected arson.

Police findings suggest that a total of 62 pupils in the privately-owned school, from Primary Three to Primary Seven were asleep when the fire started.

Mr Mugwe said one of the children saw the fire and alerted the others who ran out but the four victims, who were deep asleep, were engulfed by the raging inferno.

Three record statements

Meanwhile, the school director, Mr Fred Wabwire, security guard, and the matron, who were both on duty on the fateful night, have recorded a statement with police, which say they are pursuing a possible case of negligence of duty.

Parents, however, point to possible gaps in security at the school.

Mr Emmanuel Wandera, a parent, said they have been receiving reports from children of strangers attacking the dormitories in the night, but the school authorities had done nothing about it.

“We had planned to raise this matter (of insecurity at the school) during a parents’ meeting, but our plans have been overtaken by the burning of a dormitory and our children have died,” Mr Wandera said.

He further revealed that part of the school fence, especially on the side of the girls’ dormitory, had collapsed, making it susceptible to strangers accessing the school at night.

Mr Haruna Abasi, another parent, said the school only had one night guard, which made it difficult for him to take charge of the entire institution.

Mr Godfrey Barasa, the Busia municipal inspector of Schools, however, said the school owner operated an illegal boarding section.

“Whereas he had started on the process of licensing the boarding section by the Ministry of Education and Sports, the process was incomplete,” he said.

Asked why he accepted the school to operate a boarding section without a required license and inspection, he said he had allowed the section to operate due to alleged pressure from politicians.

“Many schools in the municipality are operating illegal boarding sections, but they cannot be closed because politicians keep interfering with our work,” Mr Barasa said.