Police report shows fires broke out in 31 schools in 2020

By Louis Kalumbia

Dar es Salaam — Fires broke out at 31 schools this year, police have said.

The schools include 20 owned by individuals and religious institutions, as well as 11 government schools, according to police.

Increased fire incidents that devastated education institutions were among five occurrences recorded by police from January to November this year.

Other incidents that show a decreasing trend compared to previous years are road accidents; armed robberyies and murders.

The Operations and Training Commissioner of Police, Liberatus Sabas, said in Dodoma on Sunday that the inferno incidents in schools were among key happenings that shocked the country this year.

"The incidents that have led to serious destruction of properties and school infrastructure were attributed to electrical faults; negligence and conflicts in respective schools," said MrSabas.

He said during the said period, accidents decreased from 2,722 incidents in 2019 to 1,800 this year - and that death-causing accidents declined from 1,117 last year to 935 this year. MrSabas said deaths and injuries from the accidents declined from 1,329 and 2,717 respectively in 2019, to 1,158 and 2089 this year.

MrSabas outlined the difference (and percentage of the decrease in brackets) as; incidents 922 (33.9pc); death causing incidents 182 (16.3pc); deaths 171 (12.9pc) and injuries 628 (23.1pc). According to him, incidents of armed robbery declined by 105 in 2020, compared to the 2019 recorded, which is equivalent to a 27 percent decrease.

"About 378 incidents were recorded between January and November 2019. The number declined to 273 happenings during the similar period this year," he said.

Furthermore, he said most incidents of killings happening this year were caused by love passion and mob violence from people taking law in their hands.

He said police provided education on citizen's need to stop taking law at their hand as well as sought for clerics' intervention, saying most of those involved in killings due to love passion were religious believers.