Fires, unrest disrupt learning at 3 Murang'a schools

Damaged property at Kirogo Boys' High School in Kiharu Constituency, Murang'a, following dormitory fires on the night of June 22, 2019. PHOTO | NGUNGU GACHANE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Two dormitories were burnt at Kirogo Boys High School in Kiharu Constituency on Saturday night while one was reduced to ashes at Mung’aria Secondary School in Kandara on Thursday.
  • It is at St Paul Kiambugi Boys' that learners were sent away on Sunday after turning unruly and hurling stones, actions that forced the management to call police.
  • Murang’a East Education Officer Mr Richard Ng’ang’a said learning was paralysed at St Paul as all the students were sent home.
  • Investigations into the Kirogo and Mung’aria fires were launched but nobody has been arrested.

Dormitories have gone up in flames at two schools in Murang'a County while learners at another have been sent home for being unruly.

Two dormitories were burnt at Kirogo Boys' High School in Kiharu Constituency on Saturday night while one was reduced to ashes at Mung’aria Secondary School in Kandara on Thursday.

It is at St Paul Kiambugi Boys' that learners were sent away on Sunday after turning unruly and hurling stones, actions that forced the management to call police.

UNREST

Murang’a East Education Officer Mr Richard Ng’ang’a said learning was paralysed at St Paul amid investigations into the cause of the chaos.

“All the boys have been sent home with their belonging. Form One and Form Two students will be called back after one week to help us unearth what their mates in Form Three and Form Four were up to,| Mr Ng'ang'a told the Nation.

He said, however, that Form Four students accused their junior counterparts of hiding the television set's remote control.

"We promptly called police who guarded the school the whole night,” he said.

The aftermath of a dormitory fire at Kirogo Boys' High School in Kiharu Constituency, Murang'a, on the night of June 22, 2019. PHOTO | NGUNGU GACHANE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

INTERROGATIONS

Investigations into the Kirogo and Mung’aria fires were launched but nobody has been arrested.

“We are in the process of interrogating several students to unravel the mystery; to know whether the fire was caused by an electric fault or students," Kandara divisional police commander (OCPD) Paul Wambugu told the Nation.

Mr Ng’ang’a said the ideas of burning schools are hatched when students meet at music festivals.

As such, he asked head teachers to take precautions to prevent crises witnessed in the past.

MONITORING

The OCPD asked management to always accompany and monitor students at such functions and ensure they leave at the end.

"Ensure they board their vehicles and return to their schools because most of the incidents take place after the activities,” he said.

He also noted that students burn schools for fear of mock exams so principals should be particularly vigilant during these periods.