Uganda school closed over student shootings

Bugema Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School in Uganda has been closed indefinitely following the shooting of two students during a protest.

The two injured students Wilma Obega (a Kenyan) and Mariam Odiera (a Sudanese) were still recovering at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, doctors said. Five others reportedly sustained minor injuries.

The students were injured when a strike turned violent. Protests at the school located in Luweero, some 40 kilometres north of Kampala, started on Friday as learners complained about poor feeding and harsh treatment by administrators.

The students turned violent on Sunday morning. Bugema head teacher Misusera Mugumya said all 1,000 students, including 400 Kenyans and Tanzanians, had been sent home.

Destroyed

Some 10 students earlier stranded in the Ugandan capital had been given fare. “We are going to have a meeting with parents on Sunday to discuss how to re-open the school and how to recover the property destroyed during the strike,” he said.

The head teacher said property worth Ush8 million was destroyed during the strike. Meanwhile, 20 police officers have been transferred to Kampala for further interrogation in connection with the use of live bullets to quell the strike.