Students of St. Joseph’s College Ombaci in Arua City have been sent home indefinitely after they went on strike last night over the death of their colleague.
The deceased has been identified as Adnan Azizi, a senior 4 student who succumbed to injuries allegedly sustained in a brawl with unidentified persons during a friendly match with Francis Ayume Memorial Secondary School in Koboko district last Friday.
Earlier reports had indicated that the deceased was bruised on the metallic gate of the college, as the bus returned with students from the friendly match, something the school authorities have since denied.
The deceased was later rushed to Arua radiology center by a group of students for treatment upon their arrival but later succumbed to injuries at around 9pm in the night.
Charles Odonga the head teacher of St. Joseph’s college Ombaci said the students started rioting last night during prep time.
Odonga added that the rowdy students destroyed window glass panes of the classrooms and staff room, school wall fence among others worth millions of shilling.
Postmortem results indicate that the deceased was hit and cut by a blunt object which destroyed his ribs, lungs and liver. The police is holding four students in connection with the matter as investigations continue.
Arua City Principal Education officer, Raymond Ombere has described the incident as unfortunate, saying the strike happened at a time when the college is reemerging from a state of academic slumber, to regain its position as the academic giant in West Nile.
Meanwhile, Andrew Asiku, a parent has condemned the actions of the students saying the burden of the destruction is going to affect them hard.
The strike at St. Joseph’s College Ombaci came just a few days after students of Kijomoro Secondary in Maracha district went on strike after the school administration rejected their demand to dance after the inauguration function for the new student leaders.
St. Joseph’s College Ombaci which was started in 1949 by the Comboni Missionaries as a technical school, for training war veterans of world war two has a total enrolment of 918 students.
The deceased will be laid to rest later today at his ancestral home in Yumbe district.
-URN
