- Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School has experienced fresh unrest, with fire and smoke reported on the night of September 2, weeks after a similar incident in July.
- Police were deployed to contain the situation, and residents reported hearing tear gas and gunshots, though the exact circumstances remain under investigation.
- The unrest follows a TSC principal swap that saw Maina Waweru replaced by Apollo Kamau, and comes amid a wider wave of unrest affecting more than 200 Kenyan schools since May.
Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School in Bahati, Nakuru County, has been thrown into fresh turmoil, barely weeks after recovering from an earlier episode of student unrest that resulted in extensive destruction of school property.
On the night of Wednesday, September 2, students reportedly staged a protest that descended into chaos, with flames and thick smoke seen rising from sections of the institution. Residents living near the school reported hearing what they described as gunshots and tear gas as police moved in to contain the situation. Images and videos circulating from the scene showed burning structures and students shouting amid the confusion, with school guards reportedly heard calling for water as they attempted to contain the flames.
The precise circumstances surrounding the latest confrontation remain subject to investigation. One account attributed the unrest to disagreements over permission to attend an event at a neighbouring school, while another suggested that tensions between student groups had already been building following clashes the previous day. These accounts remain unconfirmed pending investigation.
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The unrest comes just as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) transferred the school’s principal, Maina Waweru, to Nakuru West Secondary School in a swap arrangement that saw Apollo Kamau take over at Jomo Kenyatta High School.
This is not an isolated incident at the institution. In July, Jomo Kenyatta Boys was engulfed by unrest following a student strike, during which the administration block was extensively damaged by fire, with reports indicating offices and other facilities were destroyed. Police said preliminary investigations at the time suggested the fire may have been deliberately started. Other reporting indicated the July destruction extended to classrooms and other learning facilities, prompting authorities to close the school indefinitely. Following that incident, each student was reportedly required to contribute approximately Sh4,400 towards the cost of repairs.
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Kenya has faced a wider school-unrest challenge in recent months, with reporting in August citing more than 200 schools affected by various incidents since May, amid renewed debate about boarding-school conditions, student voice, discipline and communication between learners and school administrations.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has been pushing for stronger measures to contain school unrest nationally, with emphasis on safety, preservation of learning time and examination preparedness.
Authorities have not yet issued a formal statement on the extent of damage from the September 2 incident or on any disciplinary or investigative steps arising from it.
By Hillary Muhalya
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