Students held after dorm fire in Kirinyaga’s Karumandi School

Five students were arrested today (Wednesday) after a dormitory was set ablaze at Karumandi Boys Secondary School in Kirinyaga County.

The schoolboys were apprehended soon after a huge fire broke out at the learning institution and destroyed property worth millions of shillings as a wave of student unrest continues sweeping across the region.

Those arrested are being held at Kianyaga Police Station and will be charged in court.

The fire started at 4am and completely destroyed the dormitory but no student was injured.

Mattresses, uniforms, bags, textbooks, blankets and other items belonging to the students were reduced to ashes and nothing was salvaged.

Burnt by the students

Kirinyaga East Sub-County Police Commander Anthony Wanjuu said preliminary investigations established that the dormitory was burnt by the students.

"It is the students who have burnt the school property and those implicated must face the law. Some 83 students have been left in the cold following the destruction," he said.

He warned that students involved in criminal activities will not be spared.

Mr Wanjuu said three litres of petrol in a plastic container were recovered at the scene and will be used as exhibits when the suspects appear in court for trial.

Recently, Karia Boys' Secondary School in the same region was closed for two weeks after unruly students burnt down two dormitories.

Kirinyaga Central Deputy County Commissioner Daniel Ndege said the school was closed on security grounds and to facilitate investigations into the attack.

Mr Ndege said 16 students from Karia, among them eight Form Four learners, were the prime suspects and they could be arrested for questioning.

He added that the eight Form Four students will not be allowed back to the school, and will sit their national examinations from their homes.