Kericho's Kabianga High School closed after students attempt to burn dormitory
Kabianga Boys High School students rummage through burnt boxes that were removed from a burning dormitory on Monday morning. An attempt to bring down a second dormitory on Wednesday May 21, 2015 made the administration to close the school indefinitely. PHOTO | TIMOTHY KEMEI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- This comes only three days after they allegedly burnt another dormitory which accommodated 394 students.
- The board of management called an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss the issue and determine the possible date of reopening the school.
- Ken Kuley, a former student of the school, warned that the recent fires could have been caused by lack of mentors.
- During the Sunday incident, students lost all their belongings estimated to be worth Sh2 million though no one was injured.
Kabianga Boys High School in Kericho County has been closed indefinitely following an attempt by some students to burn down a dormitory.
This comes only three days after they allegedly burnt another dormitory which accommodated 394 students.
Kericho West Deputy County Commissioner Jamleck Mbuba said he had advised the administration of the school to send the more than 1500 boys home after some of them attempted to burn a dormitory on Wednesday evening, causing fear and tension among the rest of the students.
“We noticed that there was a lot of anxiety in the school following this second attempt which occurred at around 6pm and that it why we saw it fit that the students be sent home for a period to give them time to cool down,” he said.
EMERGENCY MEETING
Mr Mbuba said the institution’s board of management had called an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss the issue and determine the possible date of reopening the school.
He noted that security officers arrived at the institution ten minutes after the alarm was raised by the administration and managed to put out the fire but no one was arrested over the incident.
“We are still conducting investigations into the second incident and we hope to establish the reasons behind the attempted arson attack,” he said.
Ken Kuley, a former student of the school, warned that the recent fires could have been caused by lack of mentors and called on secondary schools to invest in guidance and counselling services.
Already four students from the school, who are accused of masterminding the torching of the Sh8.2 million dormitory last Sunday have been taken to court facing charges of arson.
During the Sunday incident, students lost all their belongings estimated to be worth Sh2 million though no one was injured.
Kericho Senator Charles Keter visited the school after the Sunday incident and donated Sh500,000 while Belgut MP Eric Keter donated Sh300,000 from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to go towards the reconstruction of the burnt dormitory.
