June 19, 2013 | Last updated 42 minutes ago
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EXCLUSIVE: Uganda’s Best School Catches Fire

One of Uganda’s top 10 schools, Merryland High School, Entebbe, caught fire on Thursday night.

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A wave of school fires swept Uganda in 2010 (FILE PHOTO)
A wave of school fires swept Uganda in 2010 (FILE PHOTO)

Eyewitnesses have told Chimpreports.com the raging fire gutted the boys’ dormitory wing at around 9pm, destroying property worth millions of shillings.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Police deputy publicist Judith Nabakooba was not readily available for comment.

Merryland is considered the cream of Uganda’s secondary education, coming only next to St. Mary’s College Kisubi, St. Mary’s Namagunga, Makerere College School, King’s College Budo, Gayaza High School, and St. Henry’s College Kitovu.

The incident is a huge setback to the school which has maintained its position among the best performers in the country courtesy of high standards of management and administration.

We are told Entebbe Aviation Police arrested one of the school guards as he attempted to escape. He is now in custody pending investigations into the fire.

No injuries were recorded, said witnesses.

 “The fire started at around 9pm as students were in classrooms reading books (commonly known as ‘prep’). Students wept as they witnessed their property go up in flames.  The boys’ dormitories were seriously damaged,” the source added.

The school is located at the extreme end of the airport past Kigungu village.

Several detectives from the Aviation Police have been dispatched to investigate the matter.

The eye-brow raising incident comes at a time when Uganda is having a break on school fires.

Two years ago, over 30 fire incidents were recorded at dozens of schools.

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