Learners engaged in Kisii-Narok clashes, administrators say

More than 10 schools on the Kisii-Narok border have failed to fully reopen for the third term, with teachers and government officials reporting that some learners are on the battlefield armed with bows and arrows.

The low turnout comes as inter-communal clashes triggered by a bar brawl over a woman at Nyabitunwa centre enter the third week, with no ceasefire in sight despite several security meetings convened to broker peace.

Teachers in Kiango, Enoosaen and Nyabitunwa primary schools said attendance was below 30 per cent on Monday and Tuesday, with parents reluctant to release their children as armed youths engage in fighting across the volatile region.

“Some of our learners, especially those in junior school, have not reported. They are in the forefront of the battlefields with bows and arrows, and we are now fearing for their safety,” said Ruben Ongao, headteacher of Nyangeti DEB School.

With the term being the shortest in the academic year, and national examinations just around the corner, Mr Ongao said he was worried about how the schools would recover the lost learning time if the fighting between two local communities persists.

The Kiango-Enoosaen road that connects Kisii to Transmara remains accessible only under armed police escort. Boda boda operators have withdrawn services, shops remain closed, and villages have been deserted as families spend nights in the bushes for fear of attacks.

Several people are nursing arrow wounds in hospitals in Transmara and Kisii, while local administrators said others could be recovering from injuries at home.

Residents said youths armed with bows and arrows were seen moving in groups through the bushes on Tuesday despite the deployment of General Service Unit officers.

Kenyenya Deputy County Commissioner William Bett and his Transmara West counterpart Chuck Masua are jointly leading the security operation.

Mr Bett said adequate security officers had been deployed to quell the fighting and restore calm and allow learners to return to school.

“We are appealing to parents who have not released their children to go to school to do so. We can assure them no one will touch a school-going child,” Mr Bett said.

“We are conducting operations to recover bows, arrows and other weapons. We want learners back in school, not on the battlefield,” he added.

Mr Masua also confirmed the presence of school-going children on the frontlines.

“We do not want anyone to walk along the border while armed. In these clashes, school-going children are the ones who are many,” he said.

County directors of education from Kisii and Narok are assessing whether to merge learners from the most affected schools in safer institutions under police protection.

Meanwhile, operations at Transmara Sugar Factory remain disrupted with workers forced to use the longer Kisii-Kilgoris route.

Elders have called for dialogue. They said while previous clashes were linked to land disputes, this is the first time a fight over a woman has triggered such prolonged fighting.

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