Student pleads guilty to arson charges

Oyugis Law Court in Rachuonyo South sub-county. A student at Ober Secondary in Rachuonyo East Sub-county pleaded guilty of arson attack at the school.

Photo credit: George Odiwuor | Nation Media Group.

A student from Ober Secondary School in Rachuonyo East sub-county, Homa Bay has pleaded guilty to starting a fire at the school last month.

The student told a court in Oyugis that he was behind the fire that destroyed property worth Sh2.6 million.

The August 29 morning fire left 176 students counting losses after their academic materials were destroyed.

Police initially arrested seven suspects who were reported to have been at the dormitory, which burned down when their colleagues were in class.

Confession

The student later confessed that he was the mastermind of the arson.

The others were listed as witnesses in the case.

When he was arraigned on Wednesday, he told Oyugis Principal Magistrate Celesa Okore that he had committed the crime.

β€œI will never do it again. I ask for pardon,” he pleaded to the court.

The student claimed he committed the offence because of peer pressure.

He claimed his friends pushed him to burn the dormitory.

Ms Okore ruled that the student be detained until Monday, when he will be sentenced.

He will undergo an age assessment in detention.