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Mak student held over plot to burn hall of residence
Bandola is said to have refused to vacate the room as per the university policy, a scenario that caused the clash between him and the warden. Courtesy Photo
KAMPALA. The Police are holding a Makerere University student over allegations of a plot to burn Mitchell hall of residence and also harm its warden, Mr Frank Mugwizi.
Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, said on Monday that Polly Bandola, a male fourth year student pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine, was found with a five litre Jerrycan of petrol in his room, upon search, which was clear evidence that he was planning to burn down his hall of residence.
Other exhibits that the police say were got from Bandola’s room are; suspected shisha concoctions, a big cigar, a coca cola bottle with protruding tubes, among others things.
“Yesterday (Monday), we got a report from the warden of Mitchell hall about a student who had threatened to harm him just because he had been told to leave his room. He also threatened to burn his hall of residence,” Mr Onyango said.
He added that the student was reportedly ‘’misbehaving’’ and when they went to his room, they found a lady lying unconscious.
“We had to rush the lady to the hospital since we suspected that she had consumed the concoctions. We also suspect that she could have been sexually assaulted since the concoctions found in his room very reactive and could make someone get intoxicated within a very short period,” Mr Onyango explained.
Mr Onyango says that when they visited Bandola’s room, it was locked and several types of condoms littered outside. He said that this could have been the genesis that led to the forceful eviction of the student from his room.
The student also reportedly had three retakes yet according to the university policy, such a student is supposed to leave the hall of residence and start taking care of him or herself even when that student is on the government sponsorship programme.
Bandola in this case, is said to have refused to vacate the room as per the university policy, a scenario that caused the clash between him and the warden.
However, some of Bandola’s friends refuted the allegations. They claimed that the said petrol belongs to one of them who uses it to ‘clean and repair machines’, adding that this is just something being used to frame their friend by the university management that wants to do away with him, being a former student leader who was vocal in protesting against the university’s decision to increase tuition fees.
