Apac | On April 22, at night, a phone call was made to Apac Central Police Station, and the caller requested policing.
The caller, Akeba James, 48, is the headteacher of Apac Seed Secondary School. He called to report that his students were rioting that night.
Akeba would later physically go to Apac CPS around 2:49 a.m. that night to formally notify the police and request an enforcement squad.
SP Patrick Jimmy Okema, the North Kyoga Regional PRO, stated that the DPC of Apac CPS received notification that students were destroying property.
He immediately instructed the officers on duty, and the team complied, according to Okema.
When they arrived at the school, they discovered that the majority of the students were outside the compound and were causing damage to school property, such as smashing windows and glass doors.
The urinal structure was also damaged, fire was already set on the compound, and the roof of the building was damaged by stones thrown to the top.
Other male students had already begun to approach the female dormitories. Their motives, PRO SP Okema stated, was unknown.
“When they saw the police, they started pelting stones at them, forcing the police to fire live bullets into the air to disperse them.”
The students demanded holidays.
The situation calmed down until around 9 a.m., when it was discovered that one of the students, Alele Walter of S.2, had been injured and was immediately rushed to Apac Nursing Home.
By press time Alele was still receiving treatment.
“The cause of the strike is being investigated,” Okema stated, adding, “We strongly condemn the students’ actions in destroying school property. If they had genuine grievances, the students could have sought redress from the offices of the DEO, RDC, LCV, and even the DPC.”
At least 1,179 students have been forced to return home since the Seed’s abrupt closure.