At the Masaka High Court, the grave account of the fire at St Bernard’s Secondary School in Rakai District was further elucidated. The court received testimony from the first state witness, asserting that the calamitous fire, which claimed 10 students’ lives and left an estimated 36 injured, was a deliberate act of arson, not a consequence of an electrical fault.

Steven Samuel Kibuuka, the chief government analyst, stood before Judge Victoria Nakintu Katamba, presenting the Directorate of Government Analytical Laboratory’s (DGAL) findings. The evidence pointed to an intentional ignition by unknown assailants using petrol, as deduced from hydrocarbon traces in the debris and a broken dormitory window, which was likely the conduit for the arsonist’s device.

The court was also presented with the distressing narrative of Rashid Bbosa, a student who survived the blaze. He recounted his futile efforts to awaken and evacuate his peers, only to discover the dormitory doors were locked from the outside, leaving them helplessly encircled by flames.

The prosecution’s case was supported by a report from the government lab, which came under scrutiny due to the indistinct nature of its photographic evidence, leading to a judicial request for more distinct, colored images from the scene.

During a rigorous cross-examination, Kibuuka conceded that the investigation had not entirely excluded the possibility of an electrical short circuit as the cause of the fire, indicating a potential oversight by the DGAL.

The case has been adjourned to April 16, allowing the prosecution to call further witnesses. The amended charge sheet accuses three students from the school and a local resident of 48 counts, including murder, attempted murder, arson, and attempted arson, in connection with the November 11, 2018, fire that led to the deaths of Remigious Tamale and nine other students. The accused are currently detained at Masaka Central Prison as they await further legal proceedings.