Kakamega High School has been closed indefinitely after a fire burnt a dormitory. Property of unknown value was destroyed in the Saturday morning inferno.
The closure of the school was announced by the institution’s Board of Management chairman Prof Egara Kabaji.
As he announced the closure of the school, 15 students were arrested. The learners were suspected of setting on fire the dormitory that houses 584 learners as their colleagues were in class on Saturday morning.
Kakamega Central Sub-County Police Commander Daniel Ndisya said the suspects were not in class when the fire started and had been spotted in the dormitory shortly before the building was engulfed in flames.
Mr Ndisya said that tension had been high at the school in the last three days after some students were overheard threatening to torch the school.
“The 15 are suspected to be behind the fire as all other students were already in class yet they were spotted in the boarding section immediately the fire broke out. They even assaulted a watchman and another student who saw them coming from the dormitory,” said the police commander.
The students are being held at Kakamega Police Station and are helping the police with investigations.
Prof Kabaji said the decision to close the institution had been reached to restore calm and give the police ample time for investigations.
"Students who come from around the institution have been given one hour to leave while those travelling to distant places have until tomorrow morning to vacate the school compound," said Prof Kabaji.
The more than 2,000 learners were further directed to use the biometric machines at the school gate to log out while leaving the school.
The schools Chief Principal Gerald Orina said the Alma Marta dormitory caught fire at around shortly after students had settled down for the early morning studies at 5.45am.
“Teachers and students attempted to put out the fire but they were overwhelmed. We are grateful to God that no casualties were reported during the morning inferno,” said Mr Orina.
Mr Jacob Sifuna, a parent at the school criticised the preparedness of the Kakamega County government in terms of disaster management.
“We were shocked to see a fire brigade engine come without enough water. The school is hardly a kilometre away from their offices, they could not help contain the fire,” lamented Mr Sifuna.
Parents have threatened to transfer their children from the school should they be asked to cater for the damages caused by the fire.
“You cannot put all the blame of fires in schools on students when in some cases, they are as a result of poor electric connections. Every time a dormitory is gutted, parents incur expenses of doing fresh budgets for their children,” noted Mr Sifuna.
The Kakamega dormitory becomes the third fire incident in the county after Mukumu Boys High School on October 29 and Indangalasia Secondary School in Matungu on November 1.
The incident comes barely six days after a similar incident occurred at Indangalasia secondary school in Matungu Sub-county.
