Four young schoolgirls are dead, another child is reportedly fighting for her life, and the headteacher of Ta-Aliim Primary School and Quran Memorisation Centre in Kisaasi, Kampala, is in police custody.
At the centre of the horrifying investigation is a seemingly innocent bag of oranges allegedly shared among pupils before the children began vomiting and collapsing.
What exactly happened inside this school, and could four innocent children have been saved if the emergency had been handled differently?The tragedy unfolded on November 10, 2026, in Kikulu Zone, Kikaaya Parish, Kawempe Division. By November 11, the school had become a crime scene, detectives were questioning staff and pupils, and grieving parents were struggling to comprehend how their daughters had left home for school only to return in coffins.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson SP Racheal Kawala confirmed the deaths, saying preliminary investigations indicated that the fatalities occurred at approximately 2:00pm on November 10.
The deceased were identified as Nakitende Mariam, 11, a Primary Four pupil; Kiruta Rwahim, 11, of Primary Five; Nasuna Nusufa, 11, also in Primary Four; and Nabeta Failuzi, nine, a Primary Three pupil. Three reportedly died after being sent home when they developed symptoms, while Nabeta died at Kasangati Hospital, where she had been taken for treatment.
But the biggest question investigators are now pursuing concerns the oranges. According to accounts attributed to former Kawempe mayor and area resident Ssebaggala, one of the pupils reportedly returned to school after the short Primary Leaving Examinations-related holiday carrying oranges, which she shared with fellow pupils in Primary Two, Three and Four.Not long afterwards, several children reportedly began vomiting and experiencing illness.
The possibility that the fruit could have been contaminated has now become a central line of investigation. Forensic officers reportedly recovered orange peels from the school premises and took them for laboratory examination.
However, police have not established how many children consumed the oranges, whether the fruit contained a poisonous substance, or whether another source could have caused the illnesses.The arrest of headteacher Muzahim Ssuuna has added another layer of scrutiny to the unfolding tragedy.
Police want to establish how the incident happened, what school administrators knew, how the affected pupils were handled and why children who reportedly developed serious symptoms were sent home instead of being immediately rushed to medical facilities.
These are critical questions, although the headteacher’s arrest should not be interpreted as proof of criminal responsibility. One grieving father, Hassan Magumba, whose 11-year-old daughter was among the victims, reportedly told local radio that his child was brought home around 1pm already unwell before she was pronounced dead at a nearby clinic.
Meanwhile, another pupil was reportedly in critical condition as investigations continued.By November 11, police officers had cordoned off sections of the school, photographed the premises, collected exhibits and interviewed teachers and other potential witnesses.
Families gathered at Mulago City Mortuary as they awaited postmortem examinations. Police have classified the matter as suspected murder by poisoning, but the precise cause of death remains unconfirmed.
Toxicology tests and postmortem examinations will be crucial in determining whether the children were deliberately poisoned, exposed to accidental contamination or affected by another medical cause.
The investigation must also establish whether school officials followed appropriate emergency procedures once pupils started falling sick.
For parents, the questions are frightening: Who brought the oranges? Where did they come from? Were they contaminated before reaching the school? How many children ate them? And why did the situation escalate into a tragedy involving four deaths?
Until forensic findings provide answers, these questions remain unresolved.For the families of Nakitende Mariam, Kiruta Rwahim, Nasuna Nusufa and Nabeta Failuzi, however, no investigation can reverse the devastating loss.Four schoolgirls are dead. A headteacher is under investigation.
A school has been turned into a crime scene. And Kampala is waiting for answers about how a day that began with ordinary classroom activities allegedly ended in one of the most disturbing school tragedies of the year.
