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Utumishi Girls tragedy: Fire probe targets section of teachers
What you need to know:
- It has also emerged that plans for a strike were hatched by students over a week ago.
- However, the school administration allegedly did nothing to contain the impending student unrest.
The government says two teachers at Utumishi Girls Senior School had prior warning of possible unrest but failed to act before the arson attack that killed 16 students.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said Friday that the teachers had been alerted earlier by some Form Three students who were aware of the plot to start a fire.
“However, the teachers did not take appropriate action before the arson despite having been informed beforehand,” said CS Ogamba.
He added that the Teachers Service Commission had been informed of the findings and that disciplinary action would be taken against both the principal and teachers involved.
Further, Mr Ogamba announced dissolution of the school’s Board of Management, accusing it of failing to comply with the school safety manual and Basic Education regulations.
The revelation by the CS came as a preliminary probe showed that the deadly inferno was a well-planned and orchestrated arson attack, according to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
On Friday, detectives announced that eight students were being held as persons of interest.
"We have conducted extensive interviews with students, teaching staff and other witnesses and reviewed available CCTV cameras. Preliminary investigations have identified eight students as persons of interest in connection with the planning and execution of the suspected arson attack," read part of the statement by DCI boss Mohamed Amin.
It has emerged that the suspected arson may have been planned by students hitting out over alleged "high-handedness" by the school's administration.
"The eight girls have since been arrested and are currently in police custody. Detectives continue to record statements and analyse all available evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events, establish the full circumstances of the incident and determine the motive," DCI further said.
How it started
Some of the survivors have indicated that the fire started when a mattress was set alight. The blaze quickly spread and engulfed the entire Meline Waithera Block dormitory, leading to the loss of lives and injuries.
They claim the girls had somehow managed to secured paraffin, which they used to start the fire.
The Nation established that the girls took advantage of the absence of the school matron to smuggle paraffin into school.
It has also emerged that plans for a strike were hatched by a group of students more than a week ago, but the school administration did nothing to contain the impending student unrest.
"We started hearing about the rumours a week ago. In fact, some Form Three girls were heard saying they would burn the school if their grievances were not heard. They were complaining about the poor diet in school, high-handedness of the administration among other things," revealed another Form Three student.
Investigators are seeking to establish the origin of the fire, analyse burn patternsa and determine the presence of any accelerants. They will also evaluate the integrity of electrical installations at the school to establish the exact cause and the sequence of events.
The learners are set to be arraigned in court next week.
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