Students residing in Makerere International Students’ Hostel have blamed the recent fire in the hostel on poor electrical installation. The students say the sockets are weak and have been giving off sparks, and if not addressed, could lead to a bigger problem.

Nasasira Lilian, a resident of the hostel and a third year student of BA Education said the sockets are near the beds, and sometimes release smoke. She says she even stopped using the socket in her room.

The students also complained about other issues in the hostel, including poor bathrooms, poor security of property, lack of fire extinguishers at the premises and rude custodians.

According to Otile Sam, the hostel students’ president, “after the fire started at around 5:15 PM on Thursday, hostel authorities never put any measures to stop the fire, prompting residents to seek help including fire extinguishers from the neighboring Castleville hostel”.

On Friday, hostel authorities spoke out after angry students had promised cause havoc at the hostel.

Roman Waiswa, the hostel manager, in a WhatsApp group where he is also a member, posted that the fire started from an electric short circuit. He also revealed plans to meet the hostel residents on Saturday in which all these issues will be raised, and solutions sought.