Arrow attack, dorm fires probed as primary school pupils are displaced
Burnt beds inside a dormitory at Tartar Mixed Boarding Primary School.
Tension has hit Tartar Primary School in West Pokot County after unknown persons torched dormitories twice and attacked learners with an arrow within three days.
An arsonist struck last Saturday and Sunday nights and torched dormitories at the mixed boarding and day school. On Monday, someone attacked pupils in their dormitory armed with an arrow.
School administrators said the attacker aimed the arrow at one of the pupils but he ducked and escaped unhurt.
Parents with children at the school have now resorted to performing Pokot rituals next week to help the authorities catch the criminals.
“Our elders will perform rituals and we believe the person will just surrender or run mad,” Ms Metrine Chemala told Nation.Africa.
“We won’t relent on looking for the suspect because our children are learning in fear and are traumatised. We won't allow him to continue causing more harm.”
In the first fire incident, an electrical fault was suspected but when another fire broke out in another dormitory the next day, the school community decided to investigate further.
Ms Chemala said a match box was found in one dormitory and school managers believed the arsonist had used it to light the fire.
Burnt boxes outside a dormitory at Tartar mixed boarding primary school last week following the weekend fires.
The suspects are still at large and the school has asked the police to beef up security as investigations continue.
“We want whoever has an ill motive against our pupils that we will pursue them by all means,” said deputy head teacher Dickson Mulei.
He said they will conduct rituals to identify the suspects.
Mr Mulei said the community around the school helped put out both fires, although the two dormitories were gutted.
The attackers targeted girls’ dormitories, he said. “We are traumatised and we are urging police to provide maximum security to the school.”
He added: “On Monday night, one of the learners was going out for a short call when an arrow was shot at him. It caused tension at the school and we calmed the learners and the arrow was collected from the scene of the incident.”
Following the incident, pupils were temporarily moved to a nearby church, where they will be accommodated.
Ms Jennifer Katialem, another parent, said that although they extinguished the fires using water, they did not salvage anything.
“We thank God none of our pupils were hurt. We transferred them to the nearest church,” she said,
Expressing appreciation for donations received from well-wishers, Mr Mulei said the items were not enough to sustain all the 136 pupils who lost everything.
“The learners don’t have anything. They have been forced to share whatever remained because all their bedding and boxes were burnt. We plead with well-wishers to come and help the learners,” he said.
Kapenguria OCS Lucas Wamocha, who visited the school on Wednesday, confirmed the incident on behalf of Kapenguria OCPD Kipkemoi Kirui, who is on leave. He said police were hunting for the perpetrators.
“We want to find the real culprit who committed the crime and establish the cause of the fire. It is sad that he has committed the crime twice in the school,” he said.
He said detectives are following up on the matter.
Governor John Lonyangapuo also visited the school on Wednesday and donated mattresses to pupils.
He said the school was built in 1933 and is among the oldest in the county.
He condemned the fires and the arrow attack and promised to build new dormitories for the school.
