ADF attack: Schools ordered to reopen
Residents and security personnel stand outside Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School in Kasese District last Saturday. Suspected ADF rebels attacked the school on Friday night, killing 43 people. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Some schools had closed after parents picked their children for fear of other likely attacks by the suspected Allied Democratic Forces rebels.
In an effort to dispel fears of any possible attack, Kasese District authorities have ordered schools which had closed following an attack on Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School to reopen or face punitive actions.
Most schools within the vicinity of Mpondwe-Lhubiriha SS with boarding sections, which the Monitor visited yesterday, had registered low turn-out of learners.
Their parents picked them from schools for fear of other likely attacks by the suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels.
They asked the government to first guarantee them security.
Some of the schools visited yesterday include Bwera Secondary School in Kaserengete Cell, St Charles in Bwera, Nyabugando Baptist Vocational Secondary, Karambi Secondary School and Bwera School of Nursing and Midwifery.
Mr Samson Papa, the deputy head teacher of Karambi Secondary School, explained that they released the learners to go back home on Saturday after the incident.
“Parents were all tensed up and they put us under immense pressure after learning that our sister secondary school had been attacked,” Mr Papa said.
They have since asked the parents to return the learners in vain.
“Out of 804 students who reported for second term, only about 400 have turned up for lessons,” he added.
At Bwera SS, Mr Yokonia Bwambale, the school head teacher, explained that the nervous security situation in the area had not spared their school. He added that security at the learning institution had been beefed up.
Mr George Mayinja, the Kasese District principal education officer, issued guidelines mandating all learners to report back to their respective schools without fail.
He said they have since directed all schools that might have suspended classes to resume teaching today, and without fail, apart from Mpondwe–Lhubiriha Secondary School that was temporarily closed by the Education ministry after the attack.
The Kasese Resident District Commissioner, Lt Joe Walusimbi, on Tuesday told Daily Monitor that many schools in the district had relaxed some safety and security measures.
Some of the key measures include providing psycho-social support to students so that they calm down following the latest attack.
However, the security committee recommended the same measures should trickle down to the parents and the general public.
The committee also directed all students to remain vigilant by reporting suspicious and new faces to relevant authorities, as well as cautioning head teachers against commenting recklessly on security matters.
New guidelines
In the new guidelines, Kasese RDC Lt Joe Walusimbi cautioned school management committees against employing untrained security personnel. He also advised schools to avoid single deployment of security guards.
“The habit of deploying one security guard must stop, in case one is attacked, the other can quickly respond and save the situation from worsening,” Lt Walusimbi said.
Mr John Kennedy Aguli, the Kasese District Internal Security Officer, told a meeting of head teachers at Kasese Primary School that social media is also becoming a security threat.
“Members of the public are discouraged from believing unconfirmed information that is circulating on some social media platforms because such rumors create anxiety and fear among the population,” Mr Aguli said.
The chairperson of the Association of Secondary School head teachers of Uganda, Kasese branch, Mr Joseph Nzukwa, welcomed the measures.
