One shot dead, several injured as Gulu Central High School students strike over Manchester derby
At least one student has been shot dead following a strike that turned violent at Gulu Central High School in Gulu on Sunday night.
Gulu Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Francis Okello confirmed the incident and said that the strike started at around 7:30 pm when the school administration refused to broadcast the English Premier League Manchester Derby between Manchester City and Manchester United.
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The game ended 4-1 in favor of the former.
Speaking to a journalist on Monday, Okello said that situation turned violent as students demanded that the game should be broadcast because they pay for entertainment.
“When the situation escalated, the school called in the police which tried to calm the students. The students insisted on watching the game and charge at the officers with stones, prompting them to fire teargas,” Okello said.
Buildings were vandalised during the process of the strike.
According to Okello, when police realized that the students had overpowered them, they called in the army to de-escalate the situation.
“The army started firing bullets in the air to disperse them, one student had climbed a mango tree in the compound and he was hit by the bullet,” Okello added. The deceased was identified as Rwotomiya Gabriel, a Senior 3 student at the school.
The RCC said that the school has now been closed for two weeks as investigations into the matter continue.
Gulu Central High School was Started in 1998 by Dr. David Onen. The school remains one of the leading Private Secondary Schools in Northern Uganda.
