Ntare School is a residential all-boys’ secondary school located in Mbarara, Mbarara District, south western Uganda. It was founded in 1956 by a Scottish educator named William Crichton.
Mbarara City, Uganda: Ntare School in western Uganda’s Mbarara District has suspended 540 Senior Three students after a hunger strike over the alleged expulsion of a classmate spiraled into violent clashes and property damage.
The chaos erupted after the dismissal of a student identified as Kiburura, accused of examination malpractice. Protesters, however, claim the expulsion was a cover-up to silence him for allegedly investigating homosexuality at the school.
The School Head teacher, Saul Rwampororo, confirmed the mass suspension of students, saying the situation had been simmering for weeks due to “endless fights” between Senior Three and Senior Four classes.
“We suspended the [S.3] boy for exam malpractice. However, they continued to fight with S.4 students during their mock exams. We could not tolerate that,” he told a DailyExpress correspondent in Mbarara.
What exactly happened
Eyewitnesses who spoke to this publication say the unrest began when Senior Three learners boycotted supper, demanding a full explanation for Kiburura’s dismissal. Efforts at dialogue failed, and tempers flared when Senior Four students were brought in to calm the protest, sparking fresh clashes.
Teachers then called in Senior Six students to help restore order, but the tension intensified. Matters worsened later that night when the school’s entertainment department screened the Super Cup final between Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain. Instead of easing tensions, Senior Four students allegedly blocked their Senior Three counterparts from entering the hall, wielding sticks.
The standoff escalated into stone-throwing, with protesting students smashing windows and damaging school property.
Rwampororo said all suspended students will undergo screening before returning, and ringleaders will face further disciplinary action.
Uganda’s Law on Same-Sex Acts
Under Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, consensual same-sex acts are criminal offences punishable by life imprisonment, while “aggravated homosexuality”, involving minors, people with disabilities, or where force is used, carries the death penalty.
The law also criminalizes the promotion of homosexuality, with penalties of up to 20 years in prison, and makes it an offence to knowingly fail to report suspected violations.
Older provisions in the Penal Code Act (Cap. 120) remain in force, including Section 145, which outlaws “carnal knowledge against the order of nature,” also punishable by life imprisonment.
In a school context such as at Ntare, these laws mean that any confirmed cases of same-sex acts involving minors could attract severe criminal charges, both for the alleged perpetrators and for anyone found to have knowingly concealed such acts.
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