KAMPALA, UGANDA — Four girls between the ages of 9 and 11 died this week after a suspected poisoning at a primary school in Kampala, prompting a criminal investigation and the arrest of the school's head teacher.

Police say the children attended Ta'aliim Primary School and Quran Memorisation Centre in the capital's Kawempe Division. According to the school, eight pupils ate oranges shared by a classmate on Tuesday afternoon; five of them began vomiting soon after. Four died — three at their homes and a fourth at Kasangati Hospital — while the fifth remains hospitalized, according to Watchdog Uganda.

Investigation underway

Officers have cordoned off the school grounds and are treating the site as a crime scene while postmortem examinations are carried out. Police have stopped short of confirming that the oranges caused the deaths, saying only that detectives are tracing the fruit's source and awaiting lab results, per reporting from Pulse Uganda.

The head teacher was taken into custody to "assist with investigations," though no charges have been filed. Accounts differ on which police unit is leading the case — some statements point to detectives at Jinja Road Division, others to Kira Road Division — a discrepancy local outlets have flagged as the probe continues.

FIVE CHILDREN ATE THE SAME ORANGES. FOUR NEVER MADE IT HOME.

The tragedy has reignited concern over health and safety standards at schools across Uganda, where oversight of food brought from outside campuses is inconsistent and many institutions lack nurses or on-site medical staff. Parents in Kawempe have demanded answers from both the school and police about how unscreened food reached students in the first place.

What's next

Authorities say toxicology results on the fruit and the children's remains are still pending and will determine whether the deaths are classified as homicide, accident or something else entirely. The surviving child remains under observation. Ugandan officials have signaled they may push for mandatory food-safety protocols in schools once the investigation concludes.