EXPELLED: 18 Emma High School Students Suspended, Parents Breathing Fire

By Our Reporter

KAMPALA, Uganda [SHIFTMEDIA] Scores of parents are crying foul and breathing ‘fire’ after 18 students, majority candidates were suspended from Emma High School for gross misconduct.

Literally, EMMA, the short form of Emmanuel means, “God is with us”. We are not sure whether when suspending the 18 students, this great name was put into context.

For starters, EMMA High School was found in 2004 (19 years now) by Engineer Emmanuel Tumuheirwe. Tumuheirwe, a UK trained Hospital engineer worked with Mulago Hospital for two years, and Bank of Uganda for 20 years before retiring in 2008 to venture into school business.

our background checks indicates that since the school was founded in 2004, no major strikes has been registered at EMMA High school.

So What happened?

We have established that the 18 students, four senior 4 candidates, 10 Senior 6 candidates, and two from senior 2 and 3 were also locked up at Kira Road Police station for some hours.

According to some of the suspended students, the chaos broke out over a week ago after students protested the unbecoming behavior of a new Headmaster, Herman Mukiibi. The students accused Mukiibi of sexual harassment, being bully, abusive, and torturous.

“Our new Headmaster is not considerate, some students are allergy, and are prone to attacks during cold weather, so they stay in jumpers always, something that the HM is against”, said Rio Nabukkalu one of the suspended students, a candidate in S4.

She said some girls have been complaining of being sexually harassed by the Headmaster, a serious allegation that wouldn’t be verified.

Another student accused Mukiibi of not being respectable to their parents. “When our parents come during VD, he doesn’t show respect to them at all, he shouts at them the way he shouts at us (students), said the suspended student. Mukiibi declined to comment, saying the matter is being handled by the School Board and police.

Police at Kira told us they were called up by the school to come and restore order at the school after students went berserk shattering school doors and windows.

“We were taken in the school bus escorted by police from around 11 am until 4pm when my guardian came and picked me up,” said one of the suspended students.

Surprisingly, no student was released on Police bond, though we established from the police records that the students were held for threatening violence and malicious damage to property.

Animals Killed

A senior three student, (names with-held) revealed to us how the errant students also killed some rabbits from the school farm, along with some hens, that they reportedly threw Infront of the Headmasters office and the Administration Block.

“The six killed rabbits were placed in-front of the headmasters’ office door. The doors to most classrooms and offices were also glued, making access impossible,” said the form 3 student. He explained that soon, heavily armed anti-riot police stormed the school premises and started caning the students and firing teargas.

“Shortly, the director addressed the striking students, and heard from them, though he didn’t take any action. Shortly, management came in classrooms, and names of suspected ring leaders were read and told to board the school bus to police,” said the student.

Petition Looming

Scores of parents whose students were suspended told us they are petitioning the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Hon Janet Kataha Museveni regarding this matter. “We can’t allow this shit, where a school wakes up and suspends, candidates, where do they expect us to take our students now?” asked one irked parent.