NOT GUILTY: ‎Court acquits suspects accused of burning Kyotera School dormitory

What the report says

Masaka High Court has acquitted the last two men charged over the 2018 dormitory fire at St Bernard’s Mmanya Secondary School in Kyotera District, ending the criminal case without a finding on who was responsible. The Independent Uganda reported that the blaze, which destroyed the boys’ dormitory and led to the deaths of ten students, occurred on November 11, 2018.

The court cleared former student Edison Nio and Alex Mugarura, who ran a chapati stall near the trading centre, of murder, attempted murder, arson and attempted arson. Senior Resident Judge Victoria Nakintu Katamba said prosecutors did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the two took part in the fire. According to the report, none of the 16 prosecution witnesses directly placed either accused at the scene or said they saw them planning or carrying out the attack.

The judge also said investigators did not properly present all the evidence they claimed to have recovered, and that this weakened the case after the defence challenged the handling of exhibits. Court assessors had raised similar concerns about the police investigation and the lack of scientific testing of the materials. The prosecution had earlier lost other cases linked to the same fire, including acquittals in 2024 and July this year.

Lawyer Sam Ssekyewa said the ruling highlighted weaknesses in the police investigation, while senior state attorney Deborah Itwau declined to comment, the newspaper reported. The decision leaves unresolved a case that has drawn concern over the deaths of the students and the destruction of school property.