New team to oversee exams at troubled Nyabisase school, CS Ogamba says

The government has launched investigations into recurring incidents of student unrest at Nyabisase Senior School in Bobasi, Kisii County, where students last Thursday attacked examination officials and snatched a pistol from a police officer.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba disclosed this during an interview with the Nation.

The school has witnessed repeated student strikes and unrest in recent months, with reliable sources attributing the turmoil to infighting between the former and current school administrations.

A total of 55 teachers, cooks and security personnel from the school have been summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to record statements over the latest incident, which has left the country shocked.

Mr Ogamba said examination officials deployed to the centre have already been replaced.

“We changed teams. It is a different team in place now. Once the investigations are complete, if we establish any malpractice or violation of the law, action will be taken,” said Mr Ogamba.

He said calm had been restored at the school and learning was proceeding smoothly while security had been beefed up.

“Investigations are ongoing; no exam was affected by the melee,” said the CS.

During Thursday’s incident, a group of students reportedly confronted officials from the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) and police officers overseeing the examinations before assaulting them.

In a startling act of defiance against lawful authority, the students seized a Ceska pistol from one of the police officers and held on to it for several hours.

Kisii County Police Commander Ronald Kirui said the students attacked four officers monitoring the examinations at the centre, pelting them with stones and hurling insults.

The brazen confrontation with armed security officers sent a chilling message to parents and residents about the potentially catastrophic consequences of the incident had events taken a different turn.

Despite police officers firing eight shots into the air in an attempt to disperse the unruly students, they were still overpowered. One officer was cornered and beaten up before the students disarmed him and fled with his firearm. The injured officer is receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Kisii.

Blunt trauma

Top security officials in Kisii County subsequently launched a manhunt for the missing firearm and recovered it. According to Mr Kirui, the recovery followed an intensive search by the officers.

“The police officer is in stable condition and is receiving specialised treatment. He mainly suffered from bruises and blunt trauma,” said Mr Kirui.

In July this year, the school was closed following violent student protests triggered by the posting of a new principal.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) had replaced the former principal, David Ogega, with a one from a nearby school, sparking the unrest.

The students turned on their teachers, pelting them with stones and forcing some to seek refuge behind classrooms and the administration block.

Police officers were dispatched to the school to restore order, but tensions escalated, culminating in the burning of a dormitory.

Kisii County education officials and security agencies subsequently launched investigations into the incident, which occurred shortly before the end-of-term examinations.

In response to the escalating unrest, authorities ordered the closure of the school and sent all students home.

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