The High Court in Masaka has acquitted a former student of St. Bernard’s Secondary School, Maanya, who had been charged in connection with the 2018 dormitory fire that claimed the lives of 10 students and left 37 others injured.
Justice Victoria Nakintu Katamba on Friday ordered the release of Dickson Kisule after finding that the prosecution had failed to present any evidence linking him to the deadly fire.
The ruling followed an application by Kisule’s lawyer, Sam Ssekyewa, who argued that testimony from 14 prosecution witnesses consistently showed that Kisule was already in police custody when the fire broke out on November 11, 2018.
According to the defence, Kisule had been arrested a day earlier, on November 10, and charged with criminal trespass before being detained at Maanya Police Post.
During the proceedings, several prosecution witnesses, including former St. Bernard’s Secondary School head teacher Henry Nsubunga and the former Officer in Charge of Maanya Police Post, testified that Kisule remained in police custody at the time of the inferno.
Ssekyewa told the court that the prosecution’s own evidence had effectively exonerated his client.
“All the witnesses have consistently testified that Kisule was in police custody when the offence was allegedly committed. It is therefore impossible for him to have participated in the incident. We asked the court to exercise its powers and dismiss the charges against him,” Ssekyewa submitted.
Justice Nakintu agreed with the defence, ruling that there was no evidence placing Kisule at the scene of the crime or connecting him to the offences. She dismissed all 50 charges against him and ordered his immediate release.
Kisule’s acquittal follows the release of another former student, Moses Taremwa, about two years ago. Taremwa, who had faced similar charges, was freed after the court ruled that he had already spent more time in detention than the maximum sentence a juvenile could lawfully serve, having been underage at the time of his arrest.
The judge adjourned the case involving the remaining two accused persons, Henry Taremwa and Edison Niyo, to August 3, 2026, for further hearing.
Speaking to journalists after the ruling, Ssekyewa welcomed the court’s decision, describing it as a boost to the defence team’s efforts.
“We have consistently maintained that there is no credible evidence against the accused persons. They were implicated through what we believe is fabricated evidence, and we are prepared to demonstrate this when the trial resumes in August,” he said.
The prosecution alleges that Henry Taremwa, a resident of Maanya Trading Centre in Rakai District, Edison Niyo, also known as “Edie,” and other suspects still at large, set fire to a dormitory at St. Bernard’s Secondary School, Maanya, on November 11, 2018.
The blaze killed 10 students, including Remigious Tamale, and injured 37 others in one of Uganda’s deadliest school fire tragedies.
The remaining accused persons face more than 48 charges, including 10 counts of murder, 36 counts of attempted murder, one count of arson, and one count of attempted arson.
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