The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Masaka, Uganda | URN | The death of ten students and destruction of property in the 2018 fire that razed the boys’ dormitory at St Bernard’s Mmanya Secondary School in Kyotera District remain unresolved after the Masaka High Court acquitted the last two suspects in the case.
Edison Nio, a former student at the school, and Alex Mugarura, who operated a chapati stall at a nearby trading centre, were acquitted after the trial court found that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to sustain the charges against them.
Masaka High Court Senior Resident Judge Victoria Nakintu Katamba acquitted the two of murder, attempted murder, arson and attempted arson, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they participated in the offences.
Delivering her judgment on Monday, Justice Nakintu noted that none of the 16 prosecution witnesses directly placed the accused at the scene of the crime. Neither did any of the witnesses testify that they had seen the accused committing the offences or heard them planning the attack.
The judge said the prosecution had failed to establish a direct link between the accused and the crime scene on the night the dormitory was burnt. Justice Nakintu also faulted the police for failing to produce in court all the pieces of evidence investigators claimed to have recovered and preserved during their investigations.
She said the failure to present the exhibits for examination weakened the prosecution case, particularly after the defence challenged the integrity and circumstances surrounding the alleged evidence.
The judge concurred with the court assessors, who had earlier criticised the police investigation for failing to subject the exhibits to scientific examination to establish whether they belonged to, or had been handled by, the accused persons.
In their opinion, the assessors noted that police had previously arrested other suspects in connection with the fire, but their cases collapsed after evidence emerged that weakened the prosecution’s case.
In 2024, the High Court acquitted Henry Talemwa after his lawyers raised concerns about violations of his rights as a juvenile, including allegations that police falsified his age and detained him with adult inmates.
Another suspect, Dickson Kisuule, was acquitted in July this year after the court established that he was in police custody when the fire occurred, making it impossible for him to have physically participated in burning the dormitory.
Justice Nakintu said a thorough evaluation of the evidence had revealed critical gaps and inconsistencies in the investigations, which the prosecution had failed to resolve.
Sam Ssekyewa, the lead lawyer for the acquitted suspects, said the case had exposed shortcomings in the competence of the police investigation. He said the defence team would study the judgment before deciding on their next course of action.
Deborah Itwau, the senior state attorney who led the prosecution, declined to comment on the judgment.
The acquittals bring to an end the prosecution of suspects who had been charged in connection with the dormitory fire but leave unanswered questions about who was responsible for the deaths of the ten students and the destruction of school property.
The fire occurred on November 11, 2018.
