Roy Brandon Mugo was the only child of Mr Timothy Gikonyo and Ms Esther Wanjiru. He was in Grade Six on September 5, 2024, when a dormitory at Hillside Endarasha Academy caught fire at night as its 164 occupants slept.
Mugo died in the blaze alongside 20 other boys.
Many others sustained burn wounds and other injuries as they struggled to run from the congested dormitory.
A year later, families of the dead and injured boys are still demanding answers. Was the fire an accident, arson or due a result of negligence?
Pictures of the 21 children who died in the dormitory fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy.
Photo credit: Pool
For the last one year, Mr Gikonyo and his wife have been seeking answers on how and why their child died.
Nothing has been forthcoming from the government. The couple’s pain is shared by the other 20 families.
Following the tragedy, Hillside Endarasha Academy was shut but reopened days later. It now appears life has moved on.
When the Daily Nation team arrived at the school this week, nothing indicated that 21 young lives were tragically lost in one night.
The name Hillside Endarasha Academy has been erased from the gate and a stranger would easily pass by without recognising it.
It has also been removed from the administration block. Some employees were busy erasing the name from school buses.
Whatever remained of the dormitory after the deadly inferno has been cleared. The site is fenced off with iron sheets painted blue and white.
Workers demolish the charred remains of a dormitory where 21 children tragically perished in a night fire a week ago at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County on September 17, 2024. The DCI handed the site back to the school management on Monday to begin the process of restoring normalcy to the institution.
Photo credit: JOSEPH KANYI | NATION
Boarding, once mandatory for Grade Five pupils onwards, is no longer an option for the institution, which now runs as a mixed-day primary school.
Inside is enclosed the horror of that night and the injustice the families of Brandon, Roy Victor Muturi, John Komu, Immanuel Maina, Samvin Munene, Timothy Weru, Kent Mungai, Ferdinard Karuku, Kevin Kabogo, Travis Kariuki, Lewis Machira, Collins Muriithi, Robinson Theuri, Bernard Warutere, John Munga, Michael Muriithi, Lewis Maina, Emmanuel Kiragu, Earnest Mwangi, Timothy Wamai and Success Wanjau are enduring.
“I wish the parents and families could have an opportunity to grieve. Unfortunately, we do not have the financial capacity to do so. From the inquiries we’ve made, the government and school management do not plan to hold a memorial service for the children. I suspect they don’t have answers to what happened that night,” Mr Gikonyo said.
Timothy Gikonyo, father to the late Roy Bradon Mugo, speaking in Nyeri town on September 1, 2025, said he was disappointed that the government had forgotten the parents and that a memorial service for their sons would have been an honour.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi| Nation Media Group
For the bereaved families, time stands still.
As they mark the first anniversary of the tragedy today, no memorial event has been planned. The families will not even have space to grieve together.
Hillside Endarasha Academy management appears to have put the tragedy behind it, while the government has never revealed details of the findings by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which dispatched a team from the headquarters to the school soon after the fire.
Officers from the office of government pathologist walk outside the Hillside Endarasha Academy, after a fatal fire killed and injured several pupils, in Kieni, Nyeri County, Kenya, September 7, 2024.
Photo credit: REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi
These families are still looking for answers, many wondering why it has taken long for the government to release important information, including DNA and the post-mortem results.
“I have pleaded with politicians to intervene on behalf of the affected families. I have been in and out of government offices many times. The only thing I’m told is that investigations are at an advanced stage,” Mr Gikonyo said.
“What is even more baffling is that we recorded statements with police but were never served Occurrence Book (OB) reports. This has made it almost impossible to get to make follow-ups.”
Contacted, Mr David Kinyua – the proprietor and director of the school – declined to comment. He instead referred the Daily Nation to the Ministry of Education.
Mr David Kinyua, the owner of Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri.
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
Central Region Director of Education, Sabina Aroni, said the government has not organised any memorial service for the victims, adding that no stakeholder raised the issue.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Elimu Bora Working Group – a lobby – are pursuing justice for the affected families.
After the tragedy, the two organisations filed a case to stop the reopening the school before a report by the DCI was presented in court.
“The issue was not fully concluded in court. The Education Office in Nyeri conspired with the Hillside Academy owner to reopen the school,” Mr Boaz Waruku, the policy adviser at Elimu Bora Working Group told the Daily Nation.
“That was not a good idea. The DCI had been asked to present a comprehensive report in court. It appears the government just forgot them. Every boy who survived the tragedy was given Sh25,000 to restock.”
Parents and relatives stand next to the caskets of the 21 children who died in the dormitory fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy during the burial service at Mweiga Stadium, Nyeri County on September 26, 2024.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation Media Group
In June this year, the parents held a meeting with officials from the two organisations and sent a letter to the DCI and the National Police Service.
In the June 23 letter seen by the Daily Nation, the parents demanded the findings on the cause of the fire and an account of events from the night of the tragedy.
They also sought clarity on the role of the school management and staff, including negligence or failure to address safety risks.
The parents demanded full disclosure of evidence collected, including CCTV footage at the school, statements from staff and witnesses, forensic reports and post-mortem results.
Some parents say they face stigma and have to deal with uncomfortable questions from friends, colleagues and even family members.
Inside the burnt Hillside Endarasha Academy dorm
For Ms Irene Wanjiru, whispers began even before the soil had dried on her son’s grave. Some friends and neighbours said she was to blame for the death of 13-year-old Samvin Munene.
“They said my son died because I focused on my job. They said I enrolled Samvin in a boarding school because I did not want him home. Little do they know that he wanted to be in a boarding school,” she said.
Samvin joined the school in January last year. According to his mother, he was happy to be there.
During the August holidays, he planted cabbages in the compound, something that Ms Wanjiru said he had never done before.
After her son’s death, the grief was too heavy to bear at her home in Nyeri.
Eventually, she packed her belongings and left for Nairobi where she lives with her eldest daughter.
“I stopped chasing justice because I needed to take care of my daughter and myself. I know nothing will bring Samvin back but I want to know the truth. Only then will I find peace,” Ms Wanjiru said.
On August 21, 2025, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the government would open an inquiry into the tragedy.
“The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has recommended an inquest into the matter and I can confirm that a case will soon be filed in court,” Mr Murkomen said during a media interview at the Jukwaa La Usalama Forum in Nyeri town.
According to Central Region DCI chief Abraham Mugambi, forensic detectives have completed investigations on the fire and deaths and forwarded the file to the DPP.
“The Office of the DPP has asked for a public inquest. We are now waiting for the DPP to register the file before a court so that the Judiciary can give directions on when the inquest should begin,” Dr Mugambi said.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok did not answer questions sent to his phone number or pick calls.
Mr David Karani, a member of the Elimu Bora Working Group, criticised authorities for delaying the investigations.
“Honestly, why should it take a year to make such a decision? We witnessed swift action when Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were was shot dead in Nairobii,” Mr Karani said.
“A file was already in court in just one week. Where is the difficulty in reviewing the CCTV footage? Why would the government investigate something and keep the findings to itself?”
Mr Karani said his organisation has had talks with 15 of the 21 bereaved families while Mr Waruku said they recently engaged an advocate to work with the parents and pursue the matter in court.
“We wrote to the DCI asking for the report but have not received a reply. We are now going to the Commission on Administrative Justice (Ombudsman) to compel them to do so. We’ll go to court on behalf of the parents because the government appears not interested in the issue,” Mr Waruku said.
“The government has forgotten these families. The last time it reached out to them was during the boys’ burials. No report has been released since. We have stepped in to stop such issues from becoming the norm. Many people failed the boys, including those who certified the school. We will move to court and demand a standard assurance report on the school.”
From his interactions with the families, Mr Waruku said many appear to be struggling with mental health challenges.
“After the funerals, they were left to their own devices. They have never received psycho-social support that would have made it easier for them to cope with the tragedy,” he said.
“When meeting them, there are sessions many appear angry with the world. Some are withdrawn. Others have developed medical conditions they did not have before.”
The NGO has reached out to the Interfaith Council of Kenya to organise a memorial service for the families. “We are exploring ways in which we shall bring them together for an anniversary where they can present their demands to the government,” Mr Karani said.
A worker at the school told the Daily Nation that the institution remains under the supervision of the Ministry of Education.
“Every decisions made at the school has to be approved by the Ministry of Education, including how and when parents’ meetings are held. The school is operating under strict regulations from the government,” the source who did not wish to be named said.
“The school has infused counselling into its lessons to help pupils cope with what happened that night.”
