On Tuesday, approximately 80 students from Nebbi Town Secondary School stormed Nebbi Police Station, aiming to free their games teacher who was under preventive arrest.
The assault took place around 11:45am, with the students wielding stones, bricks, and sticks as they charged the station’s entrance. Despite efforts by officers to de-escalate the situation, the students succeeded in liberating their teacher, forcing police to fire warning shots into the air to break up the crowd.
The teacher, Emmanuel Okello, had been detained after claims surfaced that he tried to rally students to disrupt a football tournament’s finals. The trouble began on March 17 when Nebbi Town SS lost to Comboni SS, leaving students and Okello furious over what they saw as unfair officiating. Later that night, a meeting in the district boardroom led to the District Inspector of Schools ordering Okello’s arrest to head off any potential unrest.
After the police station raid, authorities re-arrested Okello and detained three students involved in the incident. The school’s administration denounced the students’ behavior, issued an apology, and requested the release of the teacher and students, promising to handle the matter internally. The District Police Commander accepted this resolution, provided such events wouldn’t recur.
Once order was restored, the tournament finals continued, with Mamba SS beating Comboni SS to claim the championship title. Collins Asea, the regional police spokesperson for the West Nile sub-region, confirmed the event and criticized the students’ actions, emphasizing that attacking a police facility is a grave offense. He pressed school leaders to improve discipline and conflict resolution practices to avoid repeats of such incidents. Asea also encouraged students to pursue peaceful and legal means to resolve disputes, cautioning that future violations could carry harsher penalties.