On Saturday evening, Mr John Mwangi, the principal of Shiners’ Boys High School in Gilgil, heard a commotion followed by screams inside one of the dormitories.
He says he was alarmed because, at 8pm, the candidates sitting the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams had just had their dinner and were preparing to go for their evening preps in readiness for their Monday papers.
He rushed to establish what had transpired only to find one of the students lying in a pool of blood.
"When I arrived at the dormitory side, where the screams had originated, I was shocked to find one of the students had been stabbed in the lower abdomen, writhing in pain. Using private means, we rushed the student to the Nakuru Level Five Hospital but he succumbed to his injuries while on his way," Mr Mwangi said on Sunday.
"We were holding the boy in the vehicle but it reached a point when his body turned cold, when we reached the hospital we were told he was no more. It is so sad to lose a student who was bright and hardworking. The matter is under investigation.”
According to Mr Mwangi, the late Vincent Ngugi Muchiri, 18, was stabbed in a fight that was started by four boys who had been sent on suspension.
The four, who demanded to be told who had tampered with their boxes while they were away, had been allowed back to write their KCSE exams.
"The four boys had been allowed back to school, to sit for their KCSE exams. They had been suspended earlier this year," said Mr Mwangi.
During the Nation’s visit to the school, it emerged that one of 62 candidates at the school was missing, and he is believed to be the main suspect.
The principal said he ran away, and the parents informed the school that he arrived at their home in Nairobi at around 2am.
“We are waiting for a way forward from the Ministry of Education on where they will sit their examinations. We cannot allow them back in school because other boys are angry. If we allow them we might end up having a more serious problem than this,” said the principal.
Another student who had also been stabbed in the right thigh during the fight was stitched at the hospital and discharged. On Sunday, he was under the school doctor's supervision.
According to the principal, the school management later reported the matter at Kiongororia Police Station, where officers were dispatched to the scene for investigations.
Following the incident, four candidates from the school were arrested and locked up to help detectives with investigations.
According to Gilgil Deputy County Commissioner Willy Cheboi, the suspect who ran away is a person of interest in the ongoing investigations.
The administrator said that the matter has been handed over to detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for a further probe.
“I remember discussing the levels of discipline in the school with the centre manager. There have been issues of indiscipline at Shiners High School but since the exams started. Those in custody will help police with investigations. As we speak there is calm in school and the Monday examinations will continue as usual," he said.
The Saturday deadly clash added to other similar fights earlier in the year at Shiners’ High School.
In February, two students fought after one of them splashed soup on the other during lunch break.
By then it was a small issue and usual disciplinary actions were administered. After the invention of teachers, the matter was resolved and learning resumed.
In subsequent months, more cases of indiscipline were reported among students at the institution, but neighbours and other internal sources told the Nation the management responded with more suspensions and other forms of punishment, including manual work for offenders.
