The police in Kenyenya Sub-county have started investigation into the cause of fire that gutted down a dormitory in Riokindo Grils High School.
According to the Principal of the school, Pamela Nyabuto, the sudden fire broke out on Sunday evening and gutted down a dormitory belonging to the form one students.
“We do not know the cause of the fire that gutted down the dormitory and consumed students’ bedding and other belongings,” she said.
She narrated how the fire outbreak was spotted by one of the school’s security officers in the early evening hours before sounding an alarm.
Villagers rushed in to contain the fire but it was too late as it had engulfed the whole room. It was later stopped but nothing could be salvaged.
The principal reported the matter to the police who started investigations.
Some parents who visited the school suggested closure of the institution for some time to allow police investigation but the principal assured them of their children’s safety.
“There is no much cause for alarm because the affected students will be hosted by their colleagues as we look for alternative ways to settle them and continue with normal studies,” she said.
The principal appealed to well-wishers to donate mattresses, blankets, bed sheets and other personal effects to the learners to enable them continue with their routine studies.
When Education News visited the institution on Monday, calm had returned as students were trying to come to terms with the loss and the shock caused by the sudden inferno.
Some students who talked to this reporter but asked not to be named for fear of punishment said the fire might have been started by one girl who incited others to maliciously set ablaze the permanent dormitory as it housed Form Ones while the Form Two students were housed in a dormitory made of corrugated iron sheets. The information could not however be relied on before the police complete their investigations.
When the Kenyenya Sub-county Director of Education, George Ouko was contacted for comment, the phone call went unanswered.
Riokindo Girls’ Secondary School is situated in Kenyenya Sub-county, Bomachoge Borabu Constituency.
In 2022 KCSE examinations, the school had 190 candidates who posted desirable results as four scored B+, 39 B plain and 93 of them had B -. In grade C+, there were 59 qualifiers with only one candidate scoring grade C -to enable the school attain a mean score of 7.77 aggregate points.
According to the residents, the school has been on the gradual upward trend and they will not accept anything that might mar the encouraging trend.
They appealed to the police to hurry the investigations and furnish the public with information to enable them take appropriate preventive actions.
By Enock Okong’o
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