Kitagwenda High School brought its academic term to an abrupt end after a group of students allegedly stormed the administration block, smashed windows and broke into the head teacher’s office in a confrontation over mobile phones confiscated for breaching school rules.
The incident, which reportedly occurred on the night of August 6, 2026, has triggered a police investigation and the alleged arrest of about 20 students, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The school, a government-aided secondary school in Kabujogera Town Council, Kitagwenda District, sent all students home the following day, August 7, bringing the term to an early close and disrupting the normal academic calendar. The schools are scheduled to close on August 14, 2026 for the second term.
Sources within the school said the confrontation began after school authorities confiscated mobile phones belonging to students found with the prohibited devices in their dormitories.
“The school policy does not allow students to have phones, but some students were found in possession of them. The phones were confiscated and kept in the head teacher’s office,” a source said.
According to the sources, tensions escalated when the students allegedly demanded the return of their phones days to the end of the term but were the administration refused, since studies were still ongoing.
A group of students, mainly from Senior Five and Senior Six, is then alleged to have raided the administration block during the night.
The students reportedly shattered windows at the head teacher’s office and staff room before breaking into the head teacher’s office, where they allegedly retrieved the confiscated phones.
They are also accused of taking a television set and a time-and-attendance machine used by teachers to record their arrival and departure from school.
Police from Kabujogera Police Station were called to the school and intervened as authorities sought to contain the situation.
About 20 students were allegedly arrested in connection with the incident over suspected theft and destruction of school property pending further investigation.
The school administration subsequently decided to send all students home, citing concerns that keeping them at school could lead to further escalation. The head teacher could not be reached at the time of publishing this story.
However, in a circular to parents and guardians, head teacher Simon Ahimbisibwe said the term had ended on August 7 because of “unavoidable circumstances”.
The school said students would not be required to sit for another set of examinations before their reports were issued. Instead, their beginning-of-term and midterm examination results would be used to calculate their grades.
“You are also invited to attend a Parents Teachers’ Association (PTA) General Meeting on Thursday 13/08/2026 at 10:00am to be acquainted with developments in the school,” the circular reads.
The meeting, according to the notice, would address what the school described as crucial matters before parents collected their children’s reports.
The latest incident comes only about a month after another episode of unrest involving students in the area.
Students reportedly attacked neighbouring homes sheeting them ablaze after the body of a fellow student was discovered in a nearby coffee plantation.
The circumstances surrounding that incident, as well as the latest confrontation at the school, remain unclear and are expected to be examined further.
The allegations of theft, vandalism and disorder have not been independently established, and it was not immediately clear whether the students accused of involvement had been formally charged.
The early closure is likely to raise fresh questions about discipline, student safety and the management of conflict at the school, particularly as the latest incident follows another reported episode of unrest involving students.
