Mysterious school fires extend to Arusha

They take place on Saturday nights targeting girls’ dormitories

by Naomi Mwakasege (TSJ), Ingrid Mboya (SAUT) and Staff Reporter

Continuous cases of secondary school buildings being set ablaze by mysterious people, currently plaguing Kilimanjaro region have extended to Arusha, with an attempt on Makumira secondary School.

The incident occurred last Saturday, night, the 23^rd of August 2003, at about midnight, when the school’s students were asleep.

A strong smell of gasoline, is reported to have jerked the students awake, most of whom confessed to have spotted a figure dressed in black attire, going around at the school premises before it disappeared.

The students, then searched the entire school that very night and discovered a 300ml bottle of Fanta which had petrol liquid inside.

Speaking to the Arusha Times at the school, the students said already all the four girls’ dormitories had been sprinkled with gasoline.

Also drenched in the fuel were classroom corridors and outside toilets in what was seen to be a scene set for an inferno.

The school, according to the Headmaster, Jonas Mungure and its second master, Mrs A. Mungure has 860 students among them 315 girls, 270 of whom are boarding at the institution and prime target of the arsonists.

Regional Police Commander, James Kombe confirmed the incident and when the Arusha Times visited the school, two police officers were recording students’ statements, among them those given by the head girl, Zulfar Bashir (21).

Located in Makumira area of Arumeru district, Makumira High School is owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) Diocese of Meru.

If the culprits had succeeded, the school would have been the third one to go up in flames in a period of only one month.

On Saturday, the 16^th of August, a mysterious fire, razed three dormitories at the Usseri secondary school in Rombo district of Kilimanjaro region.

Luckily, no student suffered harm in the ordeal. The Kilimanjaro Regional Police Commander, Mohamed Chicco said the gutted dormitories were those named as: Amani, Nyerere and Kawawa, the loss incurred is yet to be known.

A week earlier, on Saturday, August the 9^th, another fire razed Marangu secondary school in Moshi district, killing one female student, Brender R. Kisamo.

Both schools are owned by the Catholic Church, the latter being a girls’ institution while the former was a mixed school.

In 1994, the Shauritanga Girls Secondary School of Mashati area, Rombo district in Kilimanjaro region went up in flames on Saturday, the 16^th of June. The inferno claimed lives of 43 students.

The series of boarding secondary schools burnings follows a suspicious trend of occurring on Saturday nights, targeting girls students and affecting church owned institutions.

The Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner, Hilda Ngoye has so far set up a commission of inquiry into these tragedies and the team consists of seven people.

Last modified: August 29, 2003.
Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2003 Arusha Times.  E-mail: arushatimes@habari.co.tz

Webmaster:   WDJMallya