The bulldozers razed Nabagereka Primary School to the ground, leaving nothing but rubble and classroom detritus.
Rose Nakamya heard about her school’s demolition when she was watching the morning news two weeks before she was due back at Nabagereka for the new school term.
“No one told us that our school would be demolished,” Nakamya said. “I think our government doesn’t care much about our schools.”
In June the government began an investigation into these activities and is now facing accusations that some of its own departments have been complicit in allowing such land-grabs.January’s demolition of Nabagereka is just one example of a worrying trend in Uganda – public schools are being evicted so private developers can use the land for commercial purposes.
“We are still investigating this matter and we shall tell the public what we have found,” Jessica Alupo, Uganda’s Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Sports, told Al Jazeera.
“Our audit exercise is not to target individuals, but is aiming at [the] ultimate protection of land belonging to education institutions. However, if there are individuals taking the schools’ land, they will be identified and questioned accordingly,” explained Alupo.
Alupo said the ministry is investigating land cases involving 30 schools – primary, secondary and university – across Uganda.