Kerry Howard Mwesigwa.
KAMPALA, November 03, 2023 | A school director and teacher at Kisugu High School in Kampala has been remanded to Luzira Prison after he allegedly prevented six senior four candidates from sitting for their final exams over unpaid school fees. Celestine Kasolo, 48, appeared before the Makindye Chief Magistrates Court on Monday, November 1, 2023, and was charged with 12 counts of disturbances at an examination centre and wrongful confinement of students.
According to the prosecution, Kasolo locked up the six students in his office on October 26, 2023, the day they were supposed to write their biology paper. He accused them of being indisciplined and refused to let them join their colleagues at the examination hall. The prosecution said that Kasolo’s actions violated the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) Act 2021, which prohibits any interference with the conduct of an examination at a designated centre.
The six students who missed the exam are Daniel Achom, Robert Ojambo, Al Mahad Saddick, Nicholas Orionzi, Calvin Onyango, and Simon Peter Mandiko. They are among the 1,181,666 candidates who registered for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams this year. The exams started on October 25, 2023, and will end on November 19, 2023.
Kasolo denied the charges and applied for bail through his lawyer. However, the magistrate Igga Adiru rejected his bail application and remanded him until November 12, 2023, when he will hear his bail application. The magistrate said that he needed to verify the sureties presented by Kasolo and also consider the gravity of the offence.
The offence of disturbances at an examination centre carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment or a fine of 20 million shillings or both, upon conviction. The offence of wrongful confinement carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment or a fine of 480,000 shillings or both, upon conviction.
The parents and guardians of the affected students have appealed to UNEB to allow their children to sit for a special exam or to repeat the paper next year. They have also condemned Kasolo for his cruelty and greed, saying that he should have given the students a chance to complete their exams and then sort out the fees issue later.
UNEB has previously warned schools and teachers against engaging in any form of examination malpractice or interference. UNEB has also urged candidates to report any cases of harassment, intimidation, or extortion by school authorities or examiners. UNEB has said that it has put in place measures to ensure the credibility and integrity of the exams, and that it will not hesitate to take action against anyone who violates the law.
