How State repeatedly fails learners in Kenyan schools

''I want to state firmly and categorically: The children of Kenyans are safe in schools.''

These were the words of Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha on September 23 last year. Prof Magoha was speaking at Precious Talent Academy in Dagoretti.

Precious Talent Academy: Classroom collapse

A classroom building had tumbled, killing eight learners and injuring more than 60 others.

In the dawn incident, the building housing standards Eight and Six pupils caved in. The learners had just reported to school to start the new week.

Prof Magoha said that government agencies would ''conduct investigations into possible causes of the tragedy'' and submit a report to him ''for urgent action''.

''This single tragic incident must not be used by anyone to instil fear in our children in both public and private primary and secondary schools,'' Prof Magoha warned.

The CS also said that the government, through the Ministry of Education, would continue to monitor schools across the country to ensure learners’ safety.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the owner had grossly flouted building regulations by putting up a semi-permanent structure for learning.

The Secretary of the National Building Inspectorate, Eng Moses Nyakiongora, termed the construction a death-trap and a criminal offence.

Meanwhile, officials at the Nairobi City County were at pains to explain how the owner, Mr Moses Ndirangu, had obtained permits for the construction.

Government Spokesperson Col Cyrus Oguna said the government would foot hospital bills for the injured.

Mr Ndirangu has since pleaded not guilty to eight counts of manslaughter.

Deaths and injuries. Government declarations. Investigations. Such has become the script of school tragedies in Kenya, well-rehearsed and predictable.

In a knee-jerk response, government officials vow to investigate the incident and to charge those found culpable.

When the dust settles, the culture of negligence springs back. Until another disaster happens.

From dorm fires to collapsed structures and the recent stampede at Kakamega Primary School, schools in Kenya have a history of being death-traps.

In the last 25 years, more than 500 children have perished in different schools across the country. This figure could be higher.

Kakamega Primary School: Stampede

This is the most recent incident of the horror of death within Kenya’s learning facilities.

A total of 14 pupils died and more than 40 were injured following a stampede on Monday, February 3, when learners were preparing to leave for home in the evening.

First to arrive at the school was Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang. The following morning, Dr Magoha landed at the school. Later on Tuesday, Deputy President William Ruto also visited the institution.

Here, the government spoke with one voice: We will get to the bottom of this, and action will be taken.

‘‘The government has activated its emergency networks and medical specialists to attend to the affected; we guarantee our total support to ensure the affected leaners receive utmost medical attention,’’ DP Ruto said.

Prof Magoha insisted that the school was safe, noting that he had visited the institution two months earlier.

‘‘We want to find answers on what led to the stampede. We’ll get to the root of this and action will be taken,’’ he said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered an immediate and thorough probe into the incident.

It remains to be seen what the investigations will reveal and what action will be taken.

Moi Girls Nairobi: Dorm fire

In September 2017, nine students were killed in a dorm fire at the national girls’ school.

Then Education CS Dr Fred Matiang’i said investigations had shown that the fire wasn’t an accident but a case of arson.

He noted that there were useful leads to specific suspects.

‘‘We’ll do whatever it takes to support the families,’’ he vowed.

Four students said to be behind the attack were to be charged.

Nearly 30 months later, it is not yet clear what has become of the case.

St Kizito Secondary School: Rape, violence

This horrific incident took place at the mixed secondary school in Meru County, renamed St Cyprian Secondary School, on the night of July 13 in 1991.

The marauding boys, who had earlier disconnected the power, attacked their female schoolmates in their dormitories, beating them up and raping them in a night of one of the most despicable horrors and violence in Kenya’s history.

By daybreak, 19 girls had died and more than 70 were injured. Hundreds of others would live with the trauma for the rest of their lives.

How the boys accessed the girls’ quarters and carried out the mayhem for more than four hours without intervention from police and neighbours near the school has never been explained.

After the government vowed stern action against the perpetrators, some were charged and served time at Athi River Prison. The attackers were reportedly more than 200, but only a few were arrested and even fewer held accountable and jailed.

The court quashed some of the cases for lack of evidence.

Nyeri High School

Back in May 13, 1999, four prefects of Nyeri High School were seriously injured when students set their rooms on fire at night. They later died in hospital.

Three of their colleagues were charged with murder.

Two of them claimed they were tortured by police in an attempt to extract confessions from them.

Kyanguli Mixed Secondary School: Fire

In the March 2001 incident, some students burnt down a dormitory where 130 boys were boarding. 67 boys died in the incident.

Two suspects, Davis Opiyo and Felix Ngumbao, were charged with murder. After two years, Judge Robert Mutitu, who was hearing the case, resigned.

Justice Nicholas Ombija took over the case. Justice Ombija, however, terminated the case in December 2006, terming it ‘‘a mistrial’’ following a corruption probe on Justice Mutitu.

The government has never issued an official statement on the events of the night or the status of the case.

In 2016, High Court Judge Joseph Sergon awarded Sh40 million to the affected families. In his ruling, he noted that the State was negligent by failing to stop the felony even after two previous attempts to raze the principal’s office and school library.

Last year, the government released Sh54 million as compensation for the 63 families who lost their loved ones.

Each family was to receive Sh857,000.

Bombolulu Girls: Fire, stampede

In 1998, 26 girls died at Bombolulu Girls' Secondary School near Mazeras, Kwale County, in a dormitory fire.

The dorm was said to be overcrowded, with over 130 students in one unit.

Reports at the time said that one of the two doors to the dormitory was locked from outside and all its 10 windows were barred.

There were also no fire extinguishers in the dorm.

Some of the girls were killed in a stampede as they tried to escape from the raging fire. The cause of the inferno has never been established, but investigators at the time said it may have either been arson, an electrical fault, an accident or spontaneous combustion.

The government appointed a committee to probe the cause of the fire and make broad recommendations on how to stop such incidents from ever happening again.

The team interviewed 90 witnesses and made its recommendations regarding properly inspected infrastructure and touching on teachers’ housing within school compounds.

Years later, Kenyan schools are still bedevilled by similar tragedies. The common thread in the aftermath of all these disasters is promises from authorities that they will not happen again.

And yet, they do.