At least four students from Good Shepherd Primary and Secondary Schools in Luwero District were hospitalized on Thursday after police discharged teargas into their school compound while attempting to disperse a protest over road construction.
The unrest broke out at Mawale Trading Centre in Makulubita Sub-county, where residents were demonstrating against the excessive dust caused by ongoing works on the 23-kilometer Mawale–Masulita–Kakiri road, currently being developed by Abubaker Technical Services.
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Isaiah Lutalo, the defense secretary of Mawale Village, explained that the community had resorted to protest after their repeated appeals to the contractor to control the dust were ignored. He added that heavy trucks transporting construction materials to Wakiso District had worsened the situation.
According to Lutalo, several locals had developed respiratory symptoms such as cough and flu, while others were forced to eat food contaminated with dust. The protest turned violent when some demonstrators started attacking motorists, burning tires, and demanding money from drivers, prompting officers from Bombo Police Station to respond with tear gas.
“In the course of dispersing the demonstrators, teargas canisters ended up inside the school compound, injuring several students,” Lutalo said.
Joseph Kakungulu, the school’s director, confirmed that the explosion of the canisters within the compound left four students—two in Primary Seven, one in Primary Six, and one in Senior Four—unconscious. The injured students were taken to Semuto Health Centre IV and later discharged that same night.
Kakungulu strongly criticized the police’s actions, insisting there was no justification for firing tear teargas into the school since the students were not involved in the protest and should have been protected from harm.
Savannah regional police spokesperson Sam Twiineamazima did not address the school incident directly but stated that police had responded to disperse unlawful gatherings and restore traffic flow. He noted that it was the third such protest that week and confirmed the arrest of five individuals in connection with the illegal assembly and attacks on motorists.
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