By Leilah Bbaale
A section of the demolished perimeter wall at Mandela SSS.
More than 1,000 students of Mandela Secondary School in Hoima city have been sent home following a violent strike by the students.
The students staged a violent strike at 2a.m protesting poor feeding and administration.
According to some of the students who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, they were being fed on poor quality beans and posho despite raising the complaints severally to the school administration.
The students were also angered by a move by the school administration to confiscate their mobile phones.
The angry students went on a rampage and demolished a perimeter wall of the school and also shattered the glass panes in their dormitories and classrooms. This compelled the school management to call in Anti-riot police to quell the situation.
On Thursday afternoon, the school management and the security unanimously resolved that the school be closed for two weeks to pave way for investigations.
Roland Ndiwalana, the school head teacher says they unanimously agreed with security that the students be sent home for sanity to return and also to allow investigations into the actual cause of the strike. He says the students will return to school on August 1, 2022.
He says this will give them time to carry out repairs on the damaged property.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine Region Police Spokesperson says security and the school management sat and resolved that all the students should first be sent home until August 1 when they will be recalled.
According to Hakiza, police will remain heavily deployed at the school until August 1 when the students will return to school.
