A police officer and private security guard have been arrested in relation to the fire outbreak which gutted the Makerere University main building known as The Ivory Tower. Their arrest was confirmed by the spokesperson of Uganda police Fred Enanga.
On Sunday the country woke up to sad news of fire gutting that Ivory Tower building. According to the University, the fire started on Saturday night destroying the top floor before the second phase which occurred yesterday leaving the left wing housing human resource and records department razed down.
Enanga said the police officer and private security guard were arrested for absconding from duty. He said their absence caused grievance damage to the building. “They could have seen the smoke and alerted our team to come and put out fire in the shortest time possible.”
“The private guard was sleeping in his room. His presence could have saved the building. People knocked on his door, however it took him one hour to come out,” he said.
Enanga said the Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the University library has been retrieved and it will be viewed and analyzed to see whether there was someone who accessed the main building before the fire outbreak.
“Our team from the forensic services, Umeme Kawempe branch, risky assessment team from Kampala capital city Authority (KCCA) will soon be on ground to take samples to establish the cause of fire,” he said adding that the cause of fire is still unknown.
