Staff held over fire that killed 19 schoolgirls
Ten people held in connection with a fire that killed 19 Ugandan schoolgirls are all school employees, a senior police official said today.
The prisoners, nine guards and a matron, are being held on suspicion of negligence, said the officer.
The officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said police suspect Monday’s fire at Budo junior school was started by arsonists.
Witnesses reported a loud bang as the building burst into flames.
The doors to the dormitory had been locked from outside.
Young survivors spoke of struggling to clamber through tiny windows as their sleeping quarters filled with smoke.
Police are following two leads involving disgruntled school staff, the officer said.
The fire was the third fatal school fire in Uganda in two years.
