19 Ugandan girls killed in dormitory fire
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - April 15, 2008 Sobbing parents sifted through the ashes of the dormitory at the
Buddo school, trying in vain to identify their daughters from
charred piles of bones.
"Help me, oh God please help me!" Jacqueline Bakoba wailed as
she lifted up part of the collapsed roof looking for her missing
daughter, Betty.
Police Inspector General Kale Kaihura told reporters at the
scene that interviews with teachers and survivors led him to
believe the fire was started deliberately.
"Preliminary investigations are indicating that it was
homicide," he said, but declined to give any more details.
Lydia Namusisi, 14, who sleeps in a nearby dormitory, said she
was woken up by a loud bang. When the girls tumbled out of bed,
they found the dormitory next door blazing.
School worker James Kiiza said the doors had been locked from
the outside.
By the time firefighters reached the school, most of the
dormitory had already burned down and part of the roof and inner
walls had collapsed. The fire burned away almost all the mattresses
and children's clothing and the intense heat warped the metal bed
frames.
Teacher Frederick Bugmbe said there were 58 girls in the
dormitory, some of whom managed to wriggle through narrow windows.
Hundreds of parents arrived at the school, which has around
1,000 students, to search for their children. The school is seven
miles from the capital, Kampala.
Police said they were still searching the site for remains.
Sylvia Nakatte said she received a phone call to tell her that
her 12-year-old daughter, Mary, had died.
"I rushed to the school but her body cannot be identified,"
she said, weeping and clawing at the sodden ashes.
