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The Uganda Police Force said four female pupils at Ta’aliim Primary School and Quran Memorisation Centre in Kikulu Zone, Kikaaya Parish, Kawempe Division, died on November 10 under circumstances suspected to involve poisoning. The deceased were identified as 11-year-old Nakitende Mariam, a Primary Four pupil, 11-year-old Kiruta Rwahim, a Primary Five pupil, 11-year-old Nasuna Nusufa, also a Primary Four pupil, and nine-year-old Nabeta Failuzi, a Primary Three pupil. Three of the children died at their homes after being sent from school when symptoms emerged while the fourth succumbed at Kasangati Hospital, according to a police statement issued the following day. Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson SP Racheal Kawala confirmed the details and noted that a fifth pupil was in critical condition at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
Preliminary findings from the Kira Road Division investigation indicate one of the pupils returned from a break during Primary Leaving Examinations with oranges that were shared among at least eight children in Primary Two, Three and Four classes. Former Kawempe mayor Ssebaggala, who visited the scene, said the affected girls suffered severe vomiting before they died and that the child who brought the fruit was among those who perished. Forensic officers collected orange peels from the school compound for laboratory testing to determine if they contained toxic substances, an assessment that local officials said could clarify the sequence of events.
Authorities arrested the school’s headteacher, Muzahim Ssuuna, on November 11 to help reconstruct how the children were treated after falling ill. The Uganda Police Force reported that detectives are interviewing staff, pupils and parents to establish why the symptomatic children were directed home instead of receiving immediate medical care at a nearby facility. SP Kawala stated that the arrest was a standard step in building a full picture of the administrative response on the day of the incident.
Postmortem examinations on the four bodies will be conducted to establish the precise medical cause of death and confirm or rule out poisoning, the police spokesperson added. The Directorate of Public Health in Kampala has been consulted as part of the wider inquiry, with samples from the school and victims undergoing toxicological analysis. A police assessment found no immediate evidence of deliberate contamination but stressed that all lines of inquiry, including possible accidental exposure to chemicals, remain open.
Similar incidents have occurred in recent years across Uganda, where food safety oversight in some schools has been flagged as inconsistent by the Ministry of Education and Sports. In one comparable case earlier in 2026, health officials in Luuka district reported that 26 pupils required hospital treatment after suspected food poisoning at a local institution, prompting renewed calls for stricter vendor screening and meal preparation standards. Central Statistical Bureau data on childhood mortality lists poisoning among the preventable causes that contribute to under-five and school-age fatalities in both urban and rural districts.
The Uganda Police Force extended condolences to the bereaved families, the school community and relatives affected by the deaths in Kawempe Division. SP Kawala said further updates would be released as laboratory results and witness statements are processed. Detectives continue to coordinate with hospital staff and forensic experts to complete the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
