Four people, including a school ICT attendant, a security guard and two Senior Four students, have been arrested after 17 computers were stolen from Kinumi Seed Secondary School in Miirya Sub-county, Masindi District. The computers were stolen in the early hours of Monday after the suspects allegedly broke into the school’s computer laboratory through a window.
The theft was discovered when learners reported for lessons at the laboratory on Monday morning and found that the computers were missing. School authorities immediately alerted police, leading to the arrest of the four suspects. They have been identified as Remon Ahimbisibwe, 22, the school’s ICT room attendant; Jacob Ojara, a security guard; and Senior Four students Isaac Meja, 19, and Abdulrahim Balisimaki, 20.
Beatrice Angozebwa, the Acting Headteacher, said she was alerted to the incident by a member of the school board. She said preliminary findings indicated that the thieves gained access through a window after breaking it, while the laboratory door showed no signs of forced entry.
Angozebwa described the theft as a major loss to the school and appealed to police to expedite investigations and recover the stolen computers. Masindi Deputy Resident District Commissioner Sanon Dhaala said investigations were underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the theft and identify other people suspected to have been involved.
He appealed to members of the public to cooperate with security agencies by providing information that could lead to the arrest of other suspects. The latest incident adds to a series of computer thefts reported at government-aided secondary schools in the Bunyoro sub-region in recent years.
In May 2024, 27 computers were stolen from Nyairongo Seed Secondary School in Kikuube District after thieves reportedly broke into the computer laboratory through a window. In April 2024, 21 computers were stolen from Butiaba Seed Secondary School in Buliisa District. The thieves reportedly took advantage of a heavy downpour to break into the computer laboratory.
Two school guards, Godfrey Rwamukaga and Alfred Bigirwenkya, were arrested in connection with the incident and remanded to Buliisa Government Prison. The computers have not been recovered. In November 2022, 16 of 29 newly installed computers were stolen from Kigorobya Seed Secondary School in Hoima District after thieves reportedly broke into the computer laboratory through a window.
Three suspects, including school guards Julius Bigirwa and Richard Musinguzi and teacher James Mbabazi, were arrested in connection with the theft. The stolen computers have also not been recovered. In July 2024, five staff members of Budongo Seed Secondary School in Nyantonzi Sub-county, Masindi District, were arrested over the alleged theft of 16 computers from the school’s computer laboratory.
Those arrested were teachers Danson Arinaitwe, Edando Yefune, Violet Sikujuwa and Clare Katuhairwe, together with school guard Leonard Billen. The repeated thefts have raised concerns over the security of computer laboratories in government-aided secondary schools in the region, many of which rely on the equipment to support digital learning-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
