Teenagers held over Byimana school fires

POLICE have arrested six teenagers, all senior one and two students of Byimana School of Sciences, in connection with the recent spate of fires that have gutted the school three times since April. The students (names withheld because they are minors) were arrested following investigations by a special team of detectives. They are currently detained at Nyamagana Police Station, Ruhango District, as Police process their documents before forwarding them to the prosecution. At the station, the students, who were wearing their khaki and white school uniforms, appeared calm. Police Spokesperson Theos Badege yesterday told reporters that investigators “worked tirelessly” to identify the suspects. “All clues indicate that these kids were the ones behind the fires,” Badege said. We found nothing which might link it to any other individuals.” According to Police, all the suspects have confessed to being part of a gang which planned and started the fires. “They told our investigators that they wanted to create a state of insecurity at the school, so that they find a reason to convince their parents to take them to other schools,” Badege said. However, neither the Police nor the school authorities could divulge specifics as to why the students wanted to relocate to other schools. It also remains unclear how the students sneaked into dormitories and torched them while fire allegedly always started when they were all closed. “It is easy for a secondary school student to enter a dormitory, either for good or bad intentions. They might also have started the fire from outside a window,” Badege said. However, he added that investigations will continue until every mystery surrounding the incidents is unravelled. The head teacher, Brother Alphonse Gahima, said the dorm’s windows had burglar proofing, although the metallic bars were removed after the first fire outbreak to create an emergency exit routes for students. Rebuilding in progress Meanwhile, efforts to rebuild the school buildings are in earnest. The Ministry of Education has availed Rwf255 million to finance the reconstruction of the buildings. However the school needs about Rwf700 million to complete all reconstruction, renovation and refurnishing activities, according to brother Gahima. Byimana School of Sciences suffered three fire incidents in less than 40 days in which three dormitories and a chapel were razed to ashes. Following the fires, parents, students and educators raised concern over the cause of the fire, with many of them ruling out electrical fault as the cause of the fires.

National

Teenagers held over Byimana school fires