Kampala — Four pupils aged between nine and 11 died on Tuesday, November 10, at a primary school in Uganda's capital in what police say preliminary findings point to as suspected poisoning, and local media reported on Thursday, November 12, that a fifth pupil had died in hospital and the school had been ordered closed. The children were pupils of Ta'Aliim Primary School and Quran Memorisation Centre in Kikulu Zone, Kikaaya Parish, in Kampala's Kawempe Division, and had just returned to school after a short holiday. In line with this site's minor-safety rule, the pupils are not named.

Source: Edge Uganda, reporting the Uganda Police statement

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson SP Racheal Kawala said preliminary findings indicated the four pupils died at around 2pm on Tuesday under circumstances suspected to be related to poisoning. Three of the children died at their homes and one died at Kasangati Hospital. Kawala said detectives from Kira Road Police Division had opened investigations, the school was cordoned off as a crime scene, and post-mortem examinations at the City Mortuary in Mulago would establish the exact cause of death.

Source: Edge Uganda, reporting police spokesperson SP Racheal Kawala

Fifth death reported, school ordered closed

On Thursday morning, another pupil who had been receiving treatment in hospital died, taking the reported toll to five, local outlet Kalisho Info reported; the pupil's identity was not immediately available. Following the deaths, the Kawempe Resident City Commissioner — the president's representative in the area — ordered the closure of the school while investigations continue, the outlet said. One other pupil was reported to be in critical condition at Mulago National Referral Hospital, according to former Kawempe mayor Latiff Ssebaggala. Parents and residents have been gathering at the school and the mortuary demanding answers.

Source: Kalisho Info

The oranges — and what police have not established

Preliminary accounts from local leaders say one pupil brought oranges to school and shared them with classmates; at least eight children are reported to have eaten the fruit, and some of those who fell ill had severe vomiting and stomach complications. Police forensic teams visited the school on Wednesday, November 11, and recovered orange peels, which have been taken for laboratory examination to establish whether they contained a harmful substance. Investigators were also expected to visit the Wakiso District area where the oranges reportedly came from. Authorities have NOT established whether the oranges were responsible for the deaths: the suspected poisoning remains under investigation, and both the post-mortem examinations and the forensic tests on the peels are still to report.

Source: Edge Uganda

The school's headteacher was arrested on Wednesday evening and is being held at Kira Road Police Station to assist police with investigations. Police have announced no charges against him, and being taken in to assist an investigation does not establish criminal responsibility. Police extended condolences to the bereaved families and the school community and promised further information as the investigation progresses.

Source: Trusted News Uganda

What happens next

The investigation now turns on two sets of results: the post-mortem examinations at Mulago, which will establish the medical cause of death, and the forensic laboratory tests on the recovered orange peels, which will show whether a poisonous substance was present. Detectives are also reconstructing the events before the pupils fell ill from accounts by parents, school staff and local leaders, and tracing where the oranges came from. Until those results are in, police say, the deaths remain a suspected poisoning under investigation — and a closed school and five grieving families are waiting for answers.