Police officers intervened and calmed down agitated parents who wanted to storm into St Anne's Girls Secondary School along Jogoo Road, Nairobi, to beat up the Deputy Principal.
Parents had rushed to the school, on Thursday evening, February 25, to check on their children following a fire incident that occurred in the morning hours.
One of the school's dormitories was razed down, with police saying that the fire started from one cubicle before it spread to other rooms.
They accused the teacher of locking them out of school and declining to address their issues. The Deputy Principal also reportedly threw out journalists and threatened them from covering the incident.
Buru Buru Deputy OCPD Stephen Okal calmed the worried parents down and urged them not to escalate the situation.
“I can assure you that no student was injured and no one was taken to the hospital because of the fire. The school board is meeting and they will address you soon,” Okal said.
The parents claimed that they had received reports alleging that some students were injured. Police, however, refuted the claims saying that only a few learners were shocked after learning that they had lost their property. The affected were rushed to Makadara Health Centre for treatment.
Makadara Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit Commander (CIPU), James Kariuki added that they were investigating the cause of the fire and would release the findings.
Firefighters and rescuers were drawn from the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and coordinated with residents to put out the fire.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), on January 26, warned students that they will be held liable for any fires arising from arson. This was after the Ministry of Education noted an alarming trend of school fires and property destruction resulting in massive losses in terms of infrastructure.
DCI cautioned that it is archiving and consolidating charges for any student involved in a crime which would reflect in their Certificate of Good Conduct.
