Survivor of Lohana wall: Coming late to 'bed' saved me from death

The Lohana High School Perimeter wall collapsed Monday morning, killing at least six (6) street children and injuring two others.

The wall is said to have succumbed to effects of torrential rains that have been battering the city for the previous days. It is reported that at about 1:00am, the wall slumped, burying a section of street children who have been seeking shelter besides it.

For Peter Kasirye, who should ideally have been part of this group by the time the incident happened, this came as a blessing in disguise.

Kasirye claims that it has been a habit for them to retreat from the city centre and take ‘bed’ rest besides the wall, along Namirembe road. But too bad for him, yesterday he arrived several minutes late and there was no space.

“I came a little late to sleep and found them covered in the available beddings. I tried to ask them for space but they refused. I pleaded with them to give me some of the ‘beddings’ but they chased me violently,” Kasirye narrated.

“On further insistence to be allowed by my colleagues to sleep here too, they woke up and threatened to beat me. I told them that they can as well ‘eat’ their beddings, then went off to look for another abode,” Kasirye continued.

Kasirye maintains that the night went fine for him, as he tucked away in a box elsewhere and slept off.

He says that he woke up so early as usual to prepare for the day, but certain ladies summoned him and told him his colleagues had been hit by a wall.

“These ladies always see us walk together, so when they saw me, they told me that my colleagues had been hit by a wall. I ran to where I had left them last night, only to find their bodies being fetched by a police van,” a teary Kasirye says.

“My friends Ryan, Kennedy and Odong are part of the children who have been killed by the perimeter wall. I feel so bad because last night, we retired from Kisenyi together,” Kasirye continued.

He blames the Local Defence Unit (LDU) officers, for the incident. “Why do they chase us from the city where we sleep. If they had not chased us, this would not have happened.”

https://twitter.com/nbstv/status/1143053470859243521?s=19