Sumaya Namulindwa and Joseph Mazige
9 July 2009
Mbarara — The school strike ghosts on Monday night continued to haunt the South Western region with students of Kinoni Community High School, Kiruhura District taking to the stage.
The love for carrying mobile telephones became the cause of the chaos as the students went on rampage, razing down one of the school buildings, robbing the bursar's office, looting the headmaster's office and the school canteen. The uncontrollable students destroyed the school laboratory and all the solar installations.
Apparently, the rioting students accuse the administration of being strict on them and barring them from carrying mobile telephones to school yet the head prefect carries one.
When the headmaster, Mr Nathan Nyaruguruka, realised that the 9.30pm chaos was running out of hand, he called the Police. A few officers from Kiruhura Police Station arrived at the school but retreated as they were overwhelmed by the number of rioting students.
They were however, reinforced and returned but they could not save the building which the students had already razed. The students had also pocketed all the money from the bursar's office. Police applied tear gas onto the destructive students who then took to their heels.
Mr Nyaruguruka told Daily Monitor yesterday that the 210 students destroyed and looted property valued at Shs5m.
"What we are doing is not against the ministry (of education) to stop students from carrying phones. In fact the ministry has asked schools to stop students from having them at school," he said. He argued that school fires have been attributed to telephones among students.
South Western Police spokesperson Polly Namaye told this newspaper that eight students all in O'level who led the strike were arrested and would be charged.
"The school is now closed indefinitely until the board of governors and the security agencies meet to find a solution to the problem. The arrested students will be charged because they are not above the law," she said yesterday.
"Students should know why they are at school and stop striking over trivial things." It is common knowledge in the region that students mainly in the candidate class riot as their days get "numbered" in the schools.
The Kinoni strike is the 10th school strike in the region since the second academic term began. The causes of these strikes have been food rations, watching football on DStv and rivalries between schools.
Strikes have been reported in Kabale, Bushenyi, Rukungiri and Mbarara districts.
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