The "Derubis Yachts" factory in Vitez burned down on 21 August. The damage is extensive, and police quickly established that the fire did not start on its own. Among the four suspects, two are minors. One of them is the son of Kenan Magoda, culture minister in the Sarajevo Canton.

Magoda confirmed it himself on social media. "If the findings are accurate and my child's responsibility is confirmed, I will demand the strictest legal consequences," he wrote. The factory's owner, Lejla Kraljevic, is blunter: "The fire was definitely set." Among the company's co-owners is basketball player Dzanan Musa, who now lives in Dubai.

Who recruits the children

The most important part of this story is not the minister's surname. According to a portal following the investigation, one of the suspects admitted he had been hired by Almedin Cato from Sarajevo - a man with an extensive police record, known for recruiting minors for criminal work. The motive for the arson is still unclear.

That is the real story. Somebody paid minors to torch a factory. They did not fall into it through poverty or bad luck - somebody sought them out, found them and used them, knowing exactly what they were doing and knowing that being a minor means a lighter sentence. That is a calculation, not an impulse.

The election is on 4 October

The scandal broke weeks before the general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for 4 October, and the opposition seized on it immediately. Criticism also came from the cultural scene, among others from Oscar winner Danis Tanovic, who had already voiced concern about how culture is being managed under Magoda.

The political side of this will be chewed up by the campaign and gone by November. What will not be gone is a different question: how long can a person with a record calmly gather minors for arson jobs before anyone reacts? The answer to that does not depend on the result on 4 October.