The Soroti Grade One Magistrates Court has remanded three students of Halcyon High School for allegedly smoking opium and attempted arson. The students are Moses Esayu, 18, Emmanuel Kenyi, 19, and Emmanuel Echodu, 18.
They were arrested on February 24 after a fire gutted a boys dormitory at Halcyon High School.
The students have since been in police custody until Thursday when they were produced before Emmanuel Pirimba, the Grade One Magistrate in Soroti. They denied the charges and were remanded until Monday.
According to the police report, all the students managed to vacate the dormitory.
“No life was lost but unfortunately, there was damage and loss of property which value is yet to be estimated”, Oscar Ageca, the East Kyoga Regional Police Spokesman said in a statement.
Some of the items that were burnt included suitcases, boxes, books among others.
One of the parents who preferred anonymity said that she has been worried about her son since his arrest from school.
“Why would the police keep students in custody for more than a week? First of all, they check all children’s belongings before they access school premises. While at school, they don’t allow students to sneak in anything. Only God knows their crime”, the worried mother said in court.
