Court lifts arrest warrant for five students accused of arson

A court has lifted a warrant of arrest against five students of Meru School accused of arson.

Meru principal magistrate Stella Abuya lifted the warrant on Tuesday after the students pleaded for leniency.

The students said they were confused when they appeared in court during the mention of their case.

The warrant against the Form Three students aged between 16 and 17 years was issued after they failed to appear in court on August 8.

They told the magistrate they were in the court premises but they confused the court room.

Ms Abuya warned them that bond will be cancelled if they fail to appear in court.

The magistrate also set the hearing date to September 8.

The students who were accompanied by their parents are accused of burning a dormitory valued at Sh2 million.

On July 1, principal magistrate Joseph Karanja released them on Sh50, 000 bond each with a surety of a similar amount after they denied the charge.

They were charged that jointly with other students who did not appear in court that they burnt 10 mattresses, 10 beds and a dormitory, all worth Sh2, 830,000 on May 20.

The prosecution has opposed an application by defence Lawyer Kiogora Mugambi to consolidate the case with that of the security guards from the school who have also been charged in court.

The four security guards were freed on Sh200, 000 bond with a surety of a similar amount, after they denied arson charges.

Leonard Maingi, Pius Kithinji, Nicholas Muthuri and Clement Muthomi face two counts for arson and neglecting to prevent a felony.